Russian diamonds still sold in Antwerp: ‘Belgium should take the lead’
“One carat is 0.2 grams. So that goes towards 5 grams. That’s really big,” says Benno Leeser of Gassan Diamonds. The shape and color make this stone extra special, says the expert.
Kimberley Process
There is always a lot to do about diamonds. The Kimberley Process is an international cooperation agreement to ensure that faulty diamonds – or conflict diamonds – are banned from the trade. “Last week the Kimberley Process came together in Botswana,” says Filip Reyniers of the Belgian research institute ISIP, which focuses on peace and human rights.
“Serious conflicts played out in the 1990s and early 2000s,” Reyniers says. “Especially in Africa, think of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Angola. Huge human rights attacks were committed there, self-financed from the extraction and sale of diamonds. It was then decided to meet in the Kimberley Process with involved states, NGOs and the world, to take measures to keep those conflict diamond blood diamonds off the market.”
Russian diamonds
Russia is a major player in the simple diamond trade. How does the war in Ukraine affect that? “We don’t say a Russian diamond at all since the war,” Leeser says. “We also supply the watch industry and we must also indicate on the invoices that these are not goods from Russia.”
“There’s a lot of discussion about situations like this belonging to the main character of the Kimberley Process,” Reyniers says. “There are two camps. One camp with NGOs, for example, says: this is the core business of the Kimberley process, you can’t implement this. And the other camp says: no, we don’t do politics.” Reyniers says that this led to a ten-hour discussion during last week’s meeting, without result.
Major financial interests
In Antwerp, Russian diamonds are still sold, unless there are official ones sold. “The financial interests are great,” says Reyniers. “25% of the turnover in Antwerp is Russian diamond. The diamond company Alrosa is one of the two largest players worldwide so it is difficult to avoid them.”
“It is a difficult file for Belgium,” said Reyniers. “There are rumors about how actively Belgium opposes being placed on the sanctions list within the EU. Belgium denies this. It has always presented itself as a pioneer of ethical diamonds. We believe that Belgium should take the lead and not hide behind an EU position.”