De Beers, the world’s largest producer of diamonds, on Wednesday said it has agreed to pay $250-million to settle four United States class-action lawsuits that accused it of overcharging.
The settlement ends 11 years of litigation and ”the majority of civil class actions filed against De Beers in the US,” the company said. It declined to elaborate on outstanding lawsuits.
The diamond company identified the plaintiffs as Sullivan, Hopkins, Cornwell and Null, a ”nationwide class of indirect [diamond] purchasers”.
De Beers’s litigation battles for years have prevented top company executives from visiting the US for fear of arrest by law enforcement.
In July last year, the diamond company paid a $10-million fine and pleaded guilty to a US Department of Justice charge of fixing prices on industrial diamonds.
The latest settlement does not involve any admission of liability, the company said. It is subject to final approval from New Jersey district court Judge Stanley R Chesler, which is expected in 2006.
The settlement comes as De Beers is shifting the emphasis of its business from mining and wholesaling to retailing and branding.
”It is consistent with the other steps we have taken in both the US and Europe to restructure and modernise both our operations and business model,” said Gary Ralfe, De Beers’s MD. — Sapa-AP