The United States has placed sanctions on AGD Diamonds of Russia and its Belgian subsidiary, Grib Diamonds, as part of its efforts to curtail Russia’s revenue generation from mining industries for its war efforts.
AGD Diamonds operates the Grib diamond pipe located 130 km from Arkhangelsk in north-west Russia. Grib Diamonds, a subsidiary of AGD based in Belgium, has been responsible for marketing diamonds from the Grib pipe through spot market internet auctions since the start of production in 2014.
US Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen announced the new sanctions on September 14, saying: “With today’s sanctions, the United States is continuing our relentless work to target Russia’s military supply chains and deprive Putin of the equipment, technology, and services he needs to wage his barbaric war on Ukraine.”
