India's Diamond Trade Being Used For Money Laundering

By siliconindia | Monday, 03 February 2014, 10:10 Hrs

Bangalore: India is one of the five countries where instances have been found that trade accounts of diamond business are being used to launder illegal funds to the tune of millions of dollars, according to a report by a global financial crimes combating body.

The report by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a Paris-based global body to set standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, says that India has reported instances where diamond prices were overvalued for purposes of laundering and suspected financing.

The report said as there were no set standards of diamond pricing in the country, agents were overvaluing the costly and prized gemstones, and even one such big instance is under the scanner of financial enforcement agencies.

The report has been brought out with the aim to provide a general overview of the global diamond industry, the way it works and the characteristics of diamonds as merchandise, "through an anti-money laundering and combating financing terror lens".

Source: PTI