Rare conviction for possessing banned diamonds

SURAT - In the first conviction of its kind in the country, two foreign nationals were Thursday convicted by a court here for possession of banned diamonds.

Two Lebanese nationals, S. Yusuf and Roboi Hussain, were sentenced to four years imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs.1 lakh by Chief Judicial Magistrate V.G. Trivedi on charges of illegally importing and trading in the banned diamonds worth Rs.3.86 crore. They were arrested in September 2008.

They were dealing in “blood diamonds” violating the requirements of the Kimberley Process - a globally recognised process designed to certify the origin of rough diamonds from sources which are free of conflict.

In a bid to curb sale of blood diamonds, the UN has issued certain guidelines. In keeping with the same, the World Diamond Council made Kimberly certification compulsory to ensure that such banned diamonds do not become a part of legal trade.