ALROSA has declared bankruptcy of its Belgian trading division, Alrosa Belgium NV in Antwerp.
According to the Belgian edition l’Echo, in mid-June the supervisory board of the company recommended termination of participation in the Belgian trading division of Alrosa Belgium through bankruptcy.
"The representative office of the Russian company ALROSA in Antwerp, Belgium (Alrosa Belgium), was closed after the expansion of European sanctions," the newspaper writes.
The G7 sanctions against Russian diamonds in force since the beginning of this year have already led to a crisis in the diamond industry in Antwerp. In particular, supply disruptions were reported due to new requirements for diamond declaration and customs clearance. The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) confirmed delays in the import of stones due to problems with declaration. AWDC CEO Ari Epstein even resigned in early April "due to internal disagreements over the issue of Russian diamonds."
The Alrosa Belgium NV office was located in Antwerp, where AlROSA has been present for more than 20 years. The functions of the representative office included: to study the state of the diamond market, to inform the parent company about changes and events in the industry, to organize displays of raw materials at auctions, tenders and other trade events to assess market trends and adapt the company's sales policy in a timely manner.
The European Union in cooperation with the G7 countries banned the import of rough Russian diamonds from January 1, 2024. Since March 1 Western countries have begun to gradually restrict imports of Russian diamonds processed in third countries.
In April, a representative of the European Commission told RIA Novosti that the Belgian financial department at AWDC was instructed to verify the origin of diamonds for admission to EU markets for the supply of stones from Russia. At the same time, in June, the EU postponed for six months the introduction of a diamond certification system, which should ensure compliance with the ban on the import of precious stones of Russian origin.
In addition, the EU as part of the 14th package of sanctions clarified that the ban on the import of diamonds from the Russian Federation now does not apply to stones exported from the country before the restrictions were imposed, 1prime.ru reports.
Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished
