Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United States has imposed sanctions on Alrosa and its chief executive officer, Sergey S. Ivanov.
Reuters reports that the diamond miner is one of 11 entities that the Department of the Treasury has identified as being owned by or connected to the Russian government in a statement released on Thursday. Following Russia's military intervention in Ukraine last week, the measures make it more difficult for American companies to engage in debt and equity transactions with Alrosa, among other things.
As the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), a source of legal guidance for the industry, explained in an alert to members, “Effectively, this action bans US businesses and persons from entering into debt transactions longer than 14 days with Alrosa but does not impose the harsher sanctions of an asset freeze and outright prohibition of all business,” “For the jewelry industry, any open memo agreements previously entered into with terms longer than 14 days should immediately be amended to shorten the terms, and/or closed.”
According to the JVC, US companies should also evaluate any current transactions they have with Alrosa or its stateside affiliate, Alrosa USA, to ensure that they do not constitute a violation of the sanctions. According to the organization, the executive order does not apply to goods purchased from Alrosa or Alrosa USA prior to February 24, when the order was signed.
As noted by the Russian Treasury, Alrosa, which is controlled by the Russian government to a third, is responsible for 90 percent of Russia's diamond-mining capacity. According to the statement, Ivanov is included in the sanctions because the United States considers him to be one of the Russian government's "leaders, officials, senior executive officers, or members of the board of directors," son of sanctioned official Sergei B. Ivanov, a close supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the statement said.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that "Treasury is taking serious and unprecedented action to deliver swift and severe consequences to the Kremlin while significantly impairing their ability to use the Russian economy and financial system to further their malign activity." followed up by her. “Our actions, taken in coordination with partners and allies, will degrade Russia’s ability to project power and threaten the peace and stability of Europe.”
Alrosa stated that it would continue to interact with international partners and that it was working to minimize any negative consequences.
