June 8, 2016
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in conjunction with Europol, Interpol, the National Police of the Netherlands, the U.S. State Dept., and the World Customs Organization, is sponsoring a two-day event on the role diamonds play in money laundering and terrorist financing.
The event, held in The Hague, the Netherlands, “will focus on the exploitation of the diamond trade and diamonds being used as a vehicle for trade based money laundering, terrorist financing, and similar nefarious purposes,” said an invite. “The forum will provide a platform for information sharing, networking, and building law enforcement partnerships that will lead to the identification, dismantling, and disruption of criminal networks associated with the illicit trade in diamonds.”
FBI supervisory special agent Eric B. Ives says that law enforcement has been gradually realizing that diamonds are vulnerable to exploitation to criminals.