Editor’s Note
This investigation reveals how Russian diamonds continue to enter Western markets despite sanctions, exploiting gaps in global traceability systems. The findings underscore the challenges of enforcing economic measures in complex, globalized supply chains.
Sanctions have not ended the trade of Russian diamonds. From Yakutia to New York, a complex export circuit deliberately obscures the origin of the precious stones, taking advantage of the absence of a reliable traceability system.
Cut in Mumbai, certified in Antwerp, sold in New York, they still shine in Western display cases, far from the Siberian mines where they originated. Since January 1, 2024, the Group of Seven (G7) countries have banned the import of stones mined in Russia, and the European Union (EU) has sanctioned the Russian giant Alrosa, the world’s largest producer, which supplies a quarter of the market.
This is how Pavel Kanygin, founder of the independent Russian media Prodoljenie Sledouïet, which conducted an investigation with the Russian NGO Arctida, summarizes the situation.
Officially, the doors of Europe and the United States have closed. In practice, according to the media’s revelations, the Russian giant has built a sophisticated system to circumvent the embargoes.
If the flows have not stopped, it is first due to a loophole in the very wording of the sanctions. As Prodoljenie Sledouïet explains, the G7 countries and the EU have provided an exception:
The article describes this as “a nuance designed to protect investors.”
