A specialist works with rough diamonds at the ALROSA Diamond Sorting Center (DSC) in Mirny, Sakha (Yakutiya) Republic, Russia, 19 June 2019. EPA-EFE/SERGEI ILNITSKY
The European Union has imposed sanctions on Russia’s largest diamond mining group, Alrosa, and its CEO Pavel Marinychev, according to a press release issued by the European Council on Wednesday.
Intended to supplement the EU ban on Russian diamond imports imposed as part of a 12th package of European sanctions on Russia last month, the ban on Russian diamonds was “part of a G7 effort to develop an internationally coordinated diamond ban that aims at depriving Russia of this important revenue source,” the European Council release said.
State-owned Alrosa is the world’s largest diamond producer and its mines in Yakutia and the Arkhangelsk region account for over 90% of Russia’s diamond production.
The 12th package of sanctions against Russia, approved by the EU on 18 December, included a ban on the import of non-industrial Russian diamonds from 1 January 2024, as well as restrictions on the sale of Russian iron and steel and strict measures to comply with the oil price cap.
