Russia is putting its diamonds up for sale as Moscow looks for more ways to raise cash amid mounting budget pressure and heavy war spending. Russia's Finance Ministry said will hold an open auction in Moscow on September 9 to sell natural rough diamonds weighing 10.8 carats or more from the country's state fund. The diamonds will be sold in separate lots, with buyers required to put down a 200,000 rouble (€2,200) deposit to take part. The sell-off comes after Russia accelerated sales of its gold reserves, highlighting how Moscow is turning to state-held precious assets as it seeks liquidity while war spending strains public finances. The central bank has sold 43.5 metric tons of gold since January while Russia's federal budget deficit approached 6 trillion roubles (€67 billion) in the first half of the year. The diamond auction is part of a broader effort to monetize assets held by the state. The auction will take place at Gokhran's Moscow premises, the state precious-metals and stones repository, with prospective buyers able to inspect the lots from August 3 through September 8.
The sell-off comes after Russia accelerated sales of its gold reserves. Photo by Bas van den Eijkhof/Unsplash; PAP/Marcin Bielecki