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Article: De Beers is coming to America.(De Beers Group S.A.)
- Article from:
- Jewelers Circular Keystone
- Article date:
- September 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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De Beers has settled its decade-old American antitrust indictment, paving the way for it to do business in the United States for the first time in over half a century.
The company pled guilty to a 1994 indictment for fixing industrial diamond prices with competitor General Electric. In the settlement, De Beers agreed to recognize the court's jurisdiction--something it did not do when the charges were first brought in 1994--and pay a $10 million fine. GE was tried on the charges in 1996, but they were dismissed.
U.S. district judge George Smith rejected pleas from some in the industry to place the company on probation, saying, "The court does not want ...