Will a Russian diamond ban be effective?

The UK has announced a ban on Russian diamonds as it tightens sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine.

Nevertheless, Russia is the world's biggest diamond exporter by volume, followed by African countries.almost a third of the world's diamonds in 2021Profits from Alrosa do flow into the Kremlin war chest, according to Hans Merket, a researcher with the International Peace Information Service - but it is nowhere near as important as oil and gas.Western countries want to cut off this revenue stream as part of efforts to hamper Russia's war.

But the major industry players could restrict the trade of Russian diamonds if they pulled together, he said.The US has already brought in sanctions to try to ban Russian diamond exports.The restrictions apply to rough diamonds - but once they have been cut and polished, the country of origin no longer matters.

There are also technologies that mark stones, and one is being developed that can scan them to check their geographical origin.The majority of Russian diamonds end up in India, where there is a major cutting and polishing centre in Surat.In Africa, local mining operations benefitted after US sanctions hit Russian exports. However, many African mining producers are not ready to feed into a traceability scheme, Mr Merket said, and could be excluded if one is brought in.

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