Jeweller - May 2021

News
US sanctions Myanmar
gemstone company
Nirav Modi extradition approved by
UK government, appeal filed
A spokesperson confirmed Home Secretary Priti
Patel approved the extradition order on 15 April.
Under UK law, the decision can be appealed
within 14 days.
Modi sought permission to appeal both Goozee
and Patel’s decisions in an application received
on 28 April.
Former jewellery mogul Nirav Modi faces life imprisonment
in India if convicted on charges stemming from the $US1.8
billion PNB fraud.
Meanwhile, Indian media report that the extradition
of Modi’s uncle Mehul Choksi, who has also been
charged in relation to the PNB fraud, could be
delayed by more than seven years.
• HIGH-QUALITY
• GREAT MARGIN
• STRONG SELLER
• NEW RANGE
FOR MEN
Australia/New Zealand Distributor
PRIDE BRANDS
www.pridebrands.com.au
Ph: (03) 6171 8005
sales@pridebrands.com.au
Myanmar (Burma) is the world’s premier source of jade (pictured), as well as highquality
ruby.
The US Department of the Treasury
(USDT) Office of Foreign Assets
Control has formally sanctioned
Myanmar (Burma)’s state-owned
gemstone trading company, Myanmar
Gems Enterprise (MGE).
The move follows a military coup in
the Asian nation which has led to
the deaths of more than 600 civilian
protestors.
According to a statement from the
USDT dated 8 April, the sanctions are
designed to target a “key economic
resource for [the] Burmese military
regime that is violently repressing
pro-democracy protests in the
country and that is responsible for
the ongoing lethal attacks against the
people of Burma”.
MGE is a subdivision of the Myanmar
government’s Ministry of Mines,
which is “responsible for all
functions relating to gemstones”
including licensing, regulations,
collecting royalties, granting permits
to individuals and companies,
and organising gemstone sales
throughout the year.
The new restrictions prohibit US
citizens, US companies, or people
within the US from undertaking
any form of transaction with MGE;
earlier this year, the USDT sanctioned
three other companies it said were
connected to the Myanmar military –
Myanmar Ruby Enterprise, Myanmar
Imperial Jade Co., and Cancri (Gems
and Jewellery) Co.
Andrea Gacki, director, USDT
Office of Foreign Assets Control,
said, “[The new restriction] highlights
Treasury’s commitment to denying the
Burmese military sources of funding,
including from key state-owned
enterprises throughout Burma.”
From 2008 to 2013 the US banned
the importation of Myanmar rubies
and jade under the Tom Lantos Block
Burmese JADE Act; the ban was
extended by President Obama to 2016,
and separate sanctions were imposed
by President Trump two years later.
The coloured gemstone industry
plays a key role in Myanmar’s
economy, with the country supplying
approximately 90 per cent of
the world’s rubies and jade. In
2016-17, the Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative estimated
that gemstones, pearls, and jade
accounted for 13 per cent of the
country’s natural resource revenue.
While exact figures are unavailable,
a 2017 report published by economic
group the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) valued the
annual revenue from government
gemstone auctions at $US3.4 billion
($AU4.4 billion).
In addition, much of the gemstone
trade is comprised of clandestine
transactions, usually undertaken
with Thai or Chinese buyers. At the
time of publication, neither Thailand
nor China had imposed sanctions on
Myanmar.
Disgraced jewellery mogul Nirav Modi has had his
extradition to India approved by the UK government’s
Home Office, following more than two years in prison.
Modi, 50, was arrested in London in March 2019
and faces a raft of charges in India related to the
$US1.8 billion ($AU2.3 billion) Punjab National
Bank (PNB) fraud, which is reported to have
occurred between 2011 and 2018.
On 25 February 2021, Westminster Magistrates
Court District Judge Samuel Goozee ruled in favour
of extradition and dismissed the defence’s claim
that Modi would not receive a fair trial in India and
was facing worsening mental health.
Pandora Jewelry records promising
first-quarter results
Despite widespread store closures, Pandora has
recorded positive revenue and sales results.
Pandora Jewelry has released its Q1 2021 financial
update, recording revenue of DKK4.5 billion
($AU935 million) amid continued store closures
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Revenue was 13 per cent higher than the same
period in 2020, when the company recorded
DKK4.17 billion ($AU867.3 million); sales also
increased by 13 per cent. However, in Q1 2020,
approximately 90 per cent of Pandora stores were
temporarily closed – starting with its Chinese
Choksi has resided in the Caribbean nation of
Antigua and Barbuda since 2017 and claimed
Antiguan citizenship in January 2018.
While it was previously reported that Choksi’s
citizenship had been revoked, a senior official within
the Antiguan government has now clarified that the
case is currently before the country’s High Court.
Lionel Hurst, chief of staff to Antigua and Barbuda
Prime Minister Gaston Browne, told India Today,
“[Choksi] has entered a lawsuit in the High Court of
Antigua and Barbuda. This matter will take about
seven years to be resolved. With enough money to
pursue these legal challenges, 2027 is the earliest
for a final resolution.”
locations from 22 January. The next market to close
stores was Italy on 11 March, closely followed by
France and the US on 14 and 15 March respectively.
By Q1 2021, approximately 30 per cent of the
Pandora international store network was
temporarily closed, rising to 35 per cent at the end
of March.
Compared with Q1 2019, when its full store network
was open, the company’s revenue decreased 6.2
per cent and sales declined 3 per cent.
The company estimates a quarter of its network
will be temporarily closed during the first six
months of 2021, but that these closures will have a
‘limited impact’ in the second half of the year.
An aide de memoire accompanying the Q1 update
noted, “While we haven’t fully turned around, we
clearly see that the brand is turning around.”
The aide de memoire also stated that the Chinese
market would “remain a drag on total revenue
growth in 2021 and that revenue in China for the
year will be well below 2019.”