Signal OFAC Issues General License 104B Updating Russia Sanctions on Diamond Imports

Summary

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License No. 104B effective August 26, 2026, conditionally authorizing certain diamond import transactions that had been prohibited under Executive Order 14068. The license supersedes a prior authorization issued under the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations and remains in effect through midnight on September 1, 2027. It covers non-industrial diamonds that were physically located outside the Russian Federation and were not exported or re-exported from Russia after specified cutoff dates, with stones of 1.0 carat or more subject to a March 1, 2024 cutoff and stones of 0.5 carat or more subject to a September 1, 2024 cutoff. These conditions appear designed to keep diamonds that transited through Russia out of the US market while allowing continued imports of volumes that can be shown not to be of Russian origin. The move is a procedural update within the broader Russia sanctions regime, refining an exception for this specific commodity category.