On March 21, De Beers PLC—the diamond giant’s parent—filed a lobbying disclosure form, so its executives could talk to U.S. government officials about “diamond sourcing and provenance issues.”
A company spokesperson tells JCK: “In light of the recent statement from G7 nations, Ambassador James C. O’Brien and members of the State Department have been engaging with industry members in the U.S. ahead of stated intentions to add additional requirements on diamonds imported into the G7 countries. De Beers Group representatives met with Ambassador O’Brien and his team as part of these engagements.”
The form said that three London-based De Beers employees will act as lobbyists: Feriel Zerouki, its senior vice president, corporate affairs; Al Cook, the company’s new CEO; and David Prager, its chief brand officer.
It listed the following issue codes: FOR, for foreign relations; NAT, for natural resources; and ECN, for economics/economic development.
O’Brien, head of the U.S. Office of Sanctions Coordination, spoke to JCK earlier this month.
De Beers described its business activities on the lobbying form as “natural diamond mining, sorting, and selling, and synthetic diamond manufacture.”
(Photo courtesy of the U.S. Capitol Police)
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