The Council of the European Union, a legislative body of the EU, has included the Russian diamond mining company ALROSA and its CEO Pavel Marynichev into the list of sanctioned entities.
The decision was published on the official website of the EU on January 3, effective immediately.
New sanctions from the EU follow the proposed import ban on non-industrial diamonds of Russian origin in Group of Seven (G7) states that came into effect on January 1. ALROSA has been sanctioned in U.S. since April 2022, but EU has abstained from cutting ties with the diamond producer because Belgium's Antwerp, a major diamond hub, was reliant on Russian rough. However, when the contours of the ban were finalized after extensive consultations over the course of 2023, the EU was able to impose its own sanctions.
The G7 restrictions will be introduced gradually: a direct import ban on Russian diamonds took effect from January 1 and indirect, after polishing in India and elsewhere, will be put into action from March 1. Traceability-based verification system to track diamonds of Russian origin is likely to be introduced by September, industry insiders claim.
Earlier in December, Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov told reporters that the export of Russian diamonds will continue despite the restrictions imposed by G7.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
