Ukraine Deletes Indian Cutter SRK from List of War Sponsors

The Ukraine National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has removed Shree Ramkrishna Exports (SRK) from its list of international sponsors of war.

NACP announced the move on October 13 following an announcement by SRK a day earlier stating it was no longer sourcing rough diamonds from Russia. The SRK statement added that it hadn’t purchased rough from Russia since January.

“We support the cause of peace and any initiatives taken jointly by the Group of Seven (G7) and government of India (through GJEPC [the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council]) for the larger interest of the trade,” SRK said. “We stand with [the] G7 commitment to follow the procedures established for handling Russian diamonds, as determined in collaboration with the government of India.”

The NACP welcomed SRK’s decision.

“SRK’s refusal to purchase Russian diamonds and the company’s exclusion from the register reinforce the effectiveness of the NACP’s project ‘International Sponsors of War,’” NACP said.

India is one of the main buyers of rough diamonds from Russia and it is the world’s leading diamond-manufacturing center, the NACP noted. SRK is one of the world’s largest diamond manufacturers.

The NACP placed SRK on its list of international war sponsors on September 15, 2023. In 2022, after the application of Western sanctions against Russia, SRK purchased more than $198 million from the country, NACP said in a statement at the time. In 2023, it continued, SRK “actively continues cooperation with the aggressor.”

SRK’s decision to stop buying diamonds from Russia “should weaken Russia’s ability to wage war against Ukraine and its influence in the world,” the NACP said in its most recent statement.

Main image: SRK’s offices in Surat, India. (SRK)