RT.com
06 Oct 2022, 19:12 GMT+10
Russia's Alrosa was reportedly excluded from the new sanction list after Belgium blocked an EU embargo
Alrosa, the Russian state-run diamond miner, has been excluded from the EU's next round of sanctions, the EUobserver reported on Wednesday, citing European Commission papers.
The world's largest diamond mining operation by volume was initially listed in the draft proposal of the bloc's eighth sanction package. The enterprise allegedly provided direct financing of a new Russian naval submarine and fed billions of euros a year into the military budget.
However, Alrosa stayed off the final list that includes 29 individuals and seven legal entities. Belgium, home to the world's largest diamond trading hub, Antwerp, blocked the EU embargo.
The U-turn reportedly came after Belgian diplomats and Antwerp Diamond Centre lobbyists raised red flags over the move that could cost thousands of jobs in the city.
Moscow-traded shares of the diamond miner, which is responsible for around 90% of Russia's capacity, were up on the news.
In April, Alrosa, whose exports exceeded $4.5 billion last year alone, was placed on the sanction list of the US Treasury and State Department, along with the United Shipbuilding Corporation.
In June, the company managed to avoid a Western-backed attempt to prevent Russian precious stones from being sold on the global market. Ukraine, the EU, Australia, Britain, Canada, and the US were reportedly planning to put forward a proposal aimed at broadening the definition of conflict diamonds, used by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). The effort was set to potentially label Russian gemstones as 'blood diamonds', but failed after Russia, Belarus, the Central African Republic, Kyrgyzstan, and Mali voiced their objections.
For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Knoxville Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Knoxville Times.
More InformationTOKYO, Japan: In a statement posted on the website of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, Beijing announced that it will ...
NEW YORK, New York - The U.S. dollar crumbled on Thursday after first posting gains. The late afternoon sell off ...
NEW YORK, New York - Wall Street dove into the red Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve Open Market Committee ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: In the latest indication that its interest rate hikes are slowing the US economy, the Federal Reserve's main ...
BEIJING, China: As COVID-19 restrictions and a slowing economy curbed consumer demand in 2022, China's smartphone sales witnessed a record ...
TOKYO, Japan: After struggling for years to promote its products amid protests from conservationists, Japanese whaling company Kyodo Senpaku announced ...
TEHRAN, Iran: A gunman this week stormed the Azerbaijan Embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and killed its security chief ...
WASHINGTON, DC - FBI agents on Wednesday searched for classified documents at U.S. President Joe Biden's vacation retreat in the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The White House said this week that Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk met with John Podesta, a Democratic ...
MANILA, Philippines: In an effort to attract more tourists, President Ferdinand Marcos has approved a value-added tax refund program for ...
TRIPOLI, Libya: Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni held talks on energy and migration in Libya this weekend, which are major ...
MIAMI, Florida: This decade, the US south is expected to see more new residents than any other region in the ...