Over $1 million of embargoed gems leave Angola every day: UN report

Embargoed diamonds worth over $1 million are smuggled out of Angola each day, constituting an estimated 5 per cent of last year's world supply of rough gems, according to a just issued report by a United Nations panel monitoring Security Council sanctions against the rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

"It appears that the Antwerp and South African markets are two key points of sale or transit for embargoed diamonds, Israel being used as a laundering route for some imports," the Monitoring Mechanism said, referring to its efforts to discover how the $1-1.2 million worth of smuggled diamonds leave Angola.

The monitoring group, headed by Ambassador Juan Larrain of Chile, says there is a need to establish a permanent capability of the Security Council to ensure continued monitoring of targeted sanctions regimes. It also urges all countries to close loopholes that could be exploited by UNITA.