Trafficking and smuggling risks in Canada’s diamond industry
Canada’s diamond industry is at risk of having “blood diamonds” laundered into their diamond industry by organized crime and terrorist organizations, according to the Canadian government.
Form canada.com:
The diamond industry in Canada’s Far North is vulnerable to smugglers looking to import “blood diamonds” or launder the proceeds of organized crime syndicates and terrorist organizations, newly released [...]
10,000 people in Zimbabwe to illegally traffic diamonds
The Governor of Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank told a conference that 10,000 people were entering Zimbabwe each month to traffic in illegal diamonds.
From The Herald (via AllAfrica.com):
Over 10 000 people from all over the world are visiting the eastern border town of Mutare every month for illegal activities involving diamonds, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon [...]
$23 million of diamonds smuggled out of Ivory Coast each year
Source: Partnership Africa Canada, “Killing Kimberley? Conflict Diamonds and Paper Tigers”, The Diamonds and Human Security Project, Revised Edition, November 2006,pg.5,(accessed: November 13, 2006).
20 percent of Sierra Leone’s diamonds were being smuggled out of the country in 2005
Source: Tristan McConnell, “Fighting diamond smuggling in Africa,” Christian Science Monitor, July 30, 2007,(accessed: July 31, 2007).
99.8 percent of world’s diamonds are being certified as legitimate
Officials from Botswana, the world’s biggest producer of high-quality minerals, reported to participants of the Kimberley Process that 99.8 percent of the world’s diamonds are being certified as legitimate.
Source: Moabi Phia, “Watchdog urged to crack down on Cote d’Ivoire,” Mail & Guardian Online, November 6, 2006,(accessed: November 13, 2006).
Venezuele has officially exported 0 diamonds
Although Venezuela is estimated to produce 150,000 carets of diamonds annually, it has officially exported none since 2005.
Source: Partnership Africa Canada, “The Lost World: Diamond Mining and Smuggling in Venezuela,” November 2006, pg. 1,(accessed: October 9, 2007).
In 1990s, up to 25 percent of diamonds were illicit
In the 1990s, it was estimated that as much as 25 percent of the world’s diamonds were in some way illicit (used for money laundering, tax evasion, purchasing drugs, weapons and other goods, or were stolen).
Source: “Killing Kimberley? Conflict Diamonds and Paper Tigers”, The Diamonds and Human Security Project, Revised Edition, November 2006,pg.3,(accessed: November 13, [...]
Why diamonds are a great contraband product
Author Larry Kahaner reported on the value of diamonds as an illicit product. Kahaner stated that “Diamonds and other gemstones are perfect for moving wealth around they are small, hold their value, and are universally acceptable as barter, don’t set off airport metal detectors, and can easily be converted to cash.”
Source: Larry Kahaner, AK-47: The [...]
Jewel Thefts receive 20 percent payout
Last week in Paris, four or five masked men entered a Harry Winston store and committed one of the largest jewelry thefts ever.
A brazen and meticulously planned robbery of the Harry Winston store in central Paris last weekend netted the unknown thieves about €20 million, or $28.4 million, in gems, one of the largest jewelry [...]
Diamond Smuggling in Venezuela
From the AFP:
Rights campaigners Global Witness called Tuesday for Venezuela to be excluded from the international diamond market, accusing it of undermining the fight against trade in so-called blood diamonds.
The group called on the European Commission to expel Venezuela for “flagrant non-compliance” with the Kimberley Process (KP), the regulatory system designed to prevent trade [...]
