The US government has imposed sanctions on two more diamond companies, including Russia’s largest producer, Kristall.

The cutting and polishing unit, which Alrosa acquired for $29 million in 2019, processes more than 200,000 carats of rough diamonds annually. Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed Kristall on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, making it the fourth Alrosa-related company to be sanctioned.

Last year, OFAC added current CEO Pavel Marinychev to the list, after adding former CEO Sergey Ivanov and the Russian mining company itself to the list in 2022.

OFAC has also listed Moscow-based Miuz Diamonds, Russia’s second-largest diamond jewelry manufacturer. The company is part of the Ruis Diamonds group and specializes in fancy cuts and high-quality ideal cuts of larger diamonds. Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev bought Miuz in 1992.

These two companies are among nearly 400 individuals and companies inside and outside Russia that OFAC targeted last week. Other companies in the industry have already been sanctioned, including the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, one of Russia’s largest producers of metals such as copper, zinc and gold.

“Russia has turned its economy into a tool in the service of the Kremlin’s military-industrial complex,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “Today’s Treasury actions continue the commitments of President (Joe) Biden and his G7 colleagues to disrupt the supply chains and payment channels of Russia’s military-industrial base.”

Image: Polished diamonds. (Crystal)