The European Union has long been monitoring Russia's lucrative diamond industry and has passed a 12th package of sanctions against the country.


Since Russia's war against Ukraine, there have been extensive discussions among G7 partners and EU members about imposing stricter import and export restrictions on Russia. Russia is one of the largest exporters of diamonds and the new sanctions will (according to a press release on the website of the European Commission on December 18, 2023) first ban any import of non-industrial diamonds mined, processed or produced in Russia.

For companies in this sector, it is important to know that every rough diamond coming from Russia and those countries enforcing the new sanctions must be certified in Antwerp. This certification process will have a traceability-based verification system, requiring the registration of diamonds to track their origin throughout the production process. The plan is to have an initial version of this system by March 1, 2024 and it is expected to be completed by September 1, 2024.

There are three important dates for implementing the sanctions package:

January 1, 2024, the immediate ban comes into effect.
March 1, 2024, a ban on diamonds weighing 1ct (and higher) that have been cut in a third country.
1 september 2024, a ban on synthetic diamonds and other types of jewelry containing diamonds weighing 0.5ct and above.

According to the European Commission, this new sanction aims to reduce Russia's diamond revenue stream, which is estimated at €4 billion per year.

If you are interested in reading more about the 12th sanctions package, check out the European Commission website to read their full press release.

Source of blog post: European Commission website, Marta PEREZ-CEJUELA ROMERO, December 18, 2023, Brussels. Last checked on December 27, 2023.