According to the Times, the report mentioning conflict diamonds was part of a larger paper presented for discussion at a meeting of India’s chief commissioners and custom officials held recently in New Delhi, the nation’s capitol.

 

“Even as rough diamonds are not subject to any duty, there is a need to remain alert to thwart the possibility of conflict diamonds being smuggled into the country,” the report states, according to the Times.

 

The report went on to issue a warning about diamonds’ possible ties to money laundering operations, stating: “The import of low-quality rough diamonds and their subsequent export at grossly inflated values has been purposefully used to disguise the origin and movement of funds.”

 

Over the past year, more than 48,000 carats of what the Times is labeling as “conflict” diamonds were seized in Surat and Mumbai. These diamonds did not have Kimberley Process certificates and originated in Zimbabwe before being smuggled into India via Kenya, according to the Times.