Ivory Coast army officer violates ban on diamond exports

Diamond trafficking suspected to be supported by some army elements
Ivory Coast army officer violates ban on diamond exports

Amidst the UN embargo laid on Ivory Coast’s rough diamond exports, a senior Ivory Coast army officer is violating the ban and using the profits to buy arms, according to media reports.

In 2013, the UN Security Council agreed to review the ban, basis Ivory Coast’s progress in complying with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). In the November plenary in Johannesburg, the KPCS recognized Ivory Coast to having fulfilled the KPCS minimum requirements ‘as possibly could be achieved under the UN embargo,’ reports say.

Reports suggest that UN experts who are responsible to monitor the compliance with UN’s regulations, noted that diamonds are being exported from Ivory Coast despite the ban, reports add. Also, as per reports, the experts have identified a principal diamond buyer in Seguela – one of the country's two main diamond-mining areas – and who said to have evaded the KPCS and sent rough diamonds to offices in Guinea and Liberia to get their certificates of origin. To operate in the diamond areas, the buyer’s network paid cash to two army officers. The experts also note that circumstances indicate the money from diamond trafficking was being used to support elements within the army loyal to a senior official, reports say.


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