Bloody Diamonds: The NACP lists one of the world's largest diamond producers SRK on the List of International War Sponsors

15.09.2023

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has listed one of the world's largest diamond manufacturing and exporting companies, Shree Ramkrishna Exports (SRK), on its list of international war sponsors. The Indian company continues to cooperate with the aggressor, purchasing diamonds in Russia, despite the sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation in this sphere. In 2023, the company tripled the purchase of diamonds in the Russian Federation compared to 2021. India is one of the main buyers of diamonds, primarily small diamond raw materials from Russia, and the world's largest diamond production center: 95% of the world's diamonds are produced in this country. About three-quarters of the diamonds come from Russia, but they are not accompanied by any official documents that could confirm their origin. SRK has an annual income of more than $1.3 billion. The company, after purchasing rough diamonds, carries out cutting, polishing, classification and exports them. Despite the international sanctions that were introduced in April 2022 against the largest diamond miner in the world, the Russian "Alrosa", SRK continued to buy diamonds in the Russian Federation, making "secret deals" for the purchase of precious stones worth hundreds of millions of dollars. At the same time, the SRK reports on its website that "rough diamonds come only from countries participating in the Kimberley Process and do not have conflict origins. We check all of our raw materials to ensure ethical considerations are met.” However, the numbers say otherwise. For example, in 2021, Shree Ramkrishna Exports purchased more than $59 million worth of diamonds in Russia. USA, and already in 2022, after the application of Western sanctions against Russia, by more than $198 million. In 2023, the company also actively continues cooperation with the aggressor. In the first half of the year alone, it purchased diamonds worth more than 132 million dollars. USA, which is three times more than in 2021. In total, in 2022, Russia exported diamonds worth 3.8 billion dollars. But even such insignificant amounts compared to the income from the sale of oil are of great importance for the Russian Federation, as they allow them to finance the war against Ukraine and maintain its economy. In December 2021, a member of the board of directors of the company, Arpit Narola, in a conversation with a correspondent of the Russian TASS, noted that the interaction between Russia and India in the diamond industry can be called an excellent example of how two countries far from each other can cooperate in the interests of each other, since the whole world carries Russian diamonds with Indian cut: "We are actively developing relations with Russia. We get high-quality raw (unprocessed) stones from your country." As the company reported, cooperation between the two countries in the diamond sector is developing at a rapid pace. "It can be said that it is developing and growing at the speed of the C-400 missile." This also testifies to the probable ideological support of the militarist policy of the Russian Federation by the Indian company. Thus, while other Western companies bypass the Russian market, Shree Ramkrishna Exports actively buys Russian diamonds on favorable terms, thereby actively sponsoring aggression against Ukraine. We would like to remind you that the NACP is the body responsible for the compliance system in the private sector. During compliance procedures, counterparties are subject to integrity checks, including socially responsible business conduct in accordance with OECD standards. The list of “International War Sponsors” on the “War and Sanctions” portal is a powerful reputational tool for achieving the integrity of supply chains in the international dimension, the exit of international business from Russia, thus reducing the financial and technological ability of the terrorist country to kill Ukrainians. One of the “leverages” of the platform is cooperation with the World-Check database, which is used by banks and insurance companies for risk assessment. That is why for global companies, the consequences of being on the list become worse than continuing to do business with the aggressor country.