ers has not been doing too well as of lately. DeBeers has violated several antitrust laws in the U.S. DeBeers has been accused of fixing industrial diamond prices in the global market. In fact many DeBeers executives will not enter the U.S. because of these disputes. Nonetheless, DeBeers continues to roll in the money from countries all over the world including the United States.There are currently allegations that DeBeers bought illegal diamonds from Angolas rebel group UNITA. To maintain world prices, De Beers bought up a sizable amount of what UNITA was selling although the company insists that it bought the diamonds on the open market without any direct dealings with the rebels, and that it stopped all buying when the embargo was imposed in 1998. (NY Times) If DeBeers did in fact purchase blood diamonds from UNITA, they would be in direct violations of several embargos and could potentially suffer major consequences. In response to these accusations DeBeers states that it will refuse to purchase diamonds that have knowingly originated in Angola, with an exception of one government controlled mine.In March of 2000 DeBeers made a guarantee that none of its diamonds are purchased from conflicted regions. They claim that all of their diamonds come from mines they own in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and other non-African locations. DeBeers has been commended by several organizations for its new claims. However, it will be seen if DeBeers can stand up to its claims. De Beers is part of the problem. In its efforts to control as much of the international diamond market as possible, it is no doubt purchasing diamonds from a wide variety of dubious sources, either wittingly or unwittingly. (PACNET) The Diamond High Council, or the Hoge Raad voor Diamant (HRD), is located in Antwerp, Belgium. Eight out of 10 of the world's rough diamonds about 125 million carats a year pass through Antwerp's Diamond Center. (NY Times) Wi...
