The world’s largest diamond producer, De Beers, is involved with talks with the United States Justice Department to settle charges of price fixing levelled against it nearly 50 years ago and return to the US market, The Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.
”The US is the biggest market for diamond jewellery — accounting for 50% of global retail jewellery sales — and we would really, really like to resolve these issues,” a spokesperson for De Beers in London told the daily.
Lynette Hori did not offer details of any possible US settlement, but said the company had ”outstanding legal issues with the Department of Justice and the European Union, and we’re working to resolve them”.
Shortly after World War II, the US Justice Department filed a lawsuit against De Beers alleging it fixed the price of industrial diamonds. In 1994, another charge was filed alleging that De Beers, together with General Electric, conspired to fix prices in the
industrial diamond market.
The charges have prevented De Beers from having a retail presence in the United States, although its sells its products through intermediaries. De Beers executives, however, are subject to arrest if they enter the United States.
Attempts by De Beers to have the charges dropped were rebuffed by the government of former US president Bill Clinton (1992-2000), and more recently by its successor, the administration of US President George Bush.
The Wall Street Journal said that late last year, DeBeers signalled it might agree to plead guilty and pay a fine to end the suit. Those discussions are now at an advanced stage, people close to the talks told the daily.
De Beers, founded in 1888, produces more than 40% of the world’s diamonds in terms of value from mines in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania.
The Diamond Trading Company, the retail arm, sells around two thirds of the world’s annual supply of rough diamonds. – Sapa-AFP