De Beers in talks on US charges

NEW YORK – Diamond giant De Beers, part-owned by Anglo American Plc, is in advanced talks to settle a price-fixing charge and return to the US market, according to a Tuesday story in the Wall Street Journal.

Citing people close to the talks, the story said De Beers signalled last year it might agree to plead guilty and pay a fine to settle allegations that date back to shortly after World War II when the Justice Department alleged that it fixed the price of industrial diamonds and followed with another suit in 1994. “We have outstanding legal issues with the Department of Justice and the European Union, and we’re working to resolve them,” said Lynette Hori, the spokeswoman for De Beers’s diamond trading company, according to the Journal.”The US is the biggest market for diamond jewellery – accounting for 50 per cent of global retail jewellery sales – and we would really, really like to resolve these issues,” she said.- Nampa-Reuters”We have outstanding legal issues with the Department of Justice and the European Union, and we’re working to resolve them,” said Lynette Hori, the spokeswoman for De Beers’s diamond trading company, according to the Journal. “The US is the biggest market for diamond jewellery – accounting for 50 per cent of global retail jewellery sales – and we would really, really like to resolve these issues,” she said.- Nampa-Reuters