LONDON — Alrosa has stepped down from the position of vice chair of the Responsible Jewellery Council.
The Russian diamond mining company temporarily left RJC’s board of directors as of March 3, according to a press release.
Alrosa “stays committed to the RJC’s highest standards of responsible business practices and sustainability pledges, and continues to contribute to the positive impact to the communities and the people where it operates,” according to the release.
“Like so many, we are deeply saddened by the geopolitical situation in connection with the Ukraine crisis,” said David Bouffard, chairman of RJC. “The RJC team will support our 1,500 international members with guidance to comply to all applicable sanctions, together with the RJC COP requirements on due diligence within their supply chains. The RJC will continue to closely monitor the situation in accordance with international regulations and update its members with guidance as it evolves.”
RJC members commit to and are independently audited against the RJC Code of Practices, an international standard on responsible business practices for diamonds, gold and platinum group metals.
In late February, Alrosa was among the institutions hit with U.S. sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions “target the core infrastructure of the Russian financial system — including all of Russia’s largest financial institutions and the ability of state-owned and private entities to raise capital — and further bar Russia from the global financial system,” according to a press release from the U.S. Treasury.
Alrosa is among entities subject to prohibitions related to new debt and equity.
The institutions “are now heavily restricted from raising money through the U.S. market — a key source of capital and revenue generation, which limits the Kremlin’s ability to raise money for its malign activity — including to support the further invasion of Ukraine,” according to the release.
Alrosa CEO Sergei Sergeevich Ivanov was also listed among “Russian elites” targeted by U.S. sanctions.