Russian diamonds are largely forgotten from European embargo lists

In Europe, the heart of the diamond industry is in Antwerp, Belgium. Three downtown streets are among the most protected streets in the country. ” 1600 companies are registered in this district alone., says Hans Merkett. The researcher, from the NGO IPIS – which documents diamond smuggling – is one of the best experts on the European market. “in AntwerpHe says, 25% of diamonds come from Russia“. According to him, the war in Ukraine did not change the volume of transactions. According to the latest official figures released by the Belgian National Bank, diamond exchanges with Russia have reached record levels four months after the start of the war. “This year, in June, Russian diamond imports reached 393 million euros. Last year, in the same period, it was only 175 million euros. This is an exceptional number “, emphasizes the researcher.

Unabated imports and benefiting the large Russian company Alrosa. Based in Mirny in eastern Siberia, the company, which specializes in extracting diamonds in large open-pit mines, is 33% owned by the Russian state. The head of the company, Sergey Ivanov, continues to be received by Vladimir Putin, as in 2020. Alrosa officials in Russia declined to answer our questions. According to our information, teams from the Russian company still work from Antwerp, but how many employees there are, and the authenticity of their work cannot be known. How to explain Alrosa being spared despite its links to the Kremlin, despite many sectors of the Russian economy being targeted by European sanctions? In the Brussels parliament, more representatives are openly questioning. “Russian diamonds are blood diamonds“, denounces Kathleen Van Brempt, an MEP from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.Up until now, at every obstacle, we have put diamonds under the rug. I’m sorry, because in America, they allowed Alrosa from the beginning of the war”Adds MEP.

According to several elected officials, if no European approval has yet been obtained, it is because the influential lobby of diamond traders has made its voice heard even in the corridors of the European Parliament. The argument is well rehearsed:It takes less than 48 hours for the Russians to put their diamonds on planes and sell them in India. So Russia’s influence would be nil and it would be disastrous for Antwerp“Thousands of jobs are at risk, to hear him tell it. European sanctions don’t seem to scare everyone off,” notes Tom Neiss, a spokesman for the AWDC, an association of diamond dealers in Antwerp. “Prohibitions don’t work.”, anonymously slips one of the diamond merchants we meet. One of his colleagues says that some diamond dealers have even found solutions to enforce potential sanctions: ” Now Russian diamonds enter through Dubai. There they get some sort of virginity certificate “. By bypassing third countries, Russian companies could complicate the discovery of precious stones and potentially limit the effectiveness of European sanctions.

Among our sources (non-exhaustive list):

Russian Rough Diamond Import Statistics (Belgium National Bank)

Hans Merkett, researcher at IPS (Antwerp).

Tom Neys, AWDC Spokesperson (Antwerp)

Kathleen Van Brempt, MEP for the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.

Belgian Delegation to the European Union.