Southern Jewelry News

(NEW YORK) - The Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) has compiled a list of countries that have laws in place to prevent money laundering in the jewelry industry. That list is now available on its website - jvclegal.org.

The United States government generally exempts jewelry retailers from the obligation of implementing anti-money laundering (AML) programs, even if the retailers otherwise qualify as “dealers” in “covered goods.” One exception to this general exemption is if the retailer acquires covered goods from foreign countries, in which case the retailer must institute an AML program that assigns a risk level to those transactions.

Many foreign countries, however, have their own AML programs that include trade in precious stones and metals. For this reason, our government allows retailers to assign a relatively low risk to suppliers from those countries – as long as the supplier represents that it is in full compliance with it’s country’s AML laws.

For purposes of evaluating risk, if a retailer’s supplier:

• is situated in a country that has AML laws, and
• that country’s AML laws cover precious metals and stones, and
• the supplier represents that it is compliant with the country’s laws, and
• there are no “red flags” associated with transactions with the supplier, then
• the retailer may assign a low-risk level to transactions with that supplier.

Determining the existence and reach of a particular country’s AML laws must be done on a case by case basis. JVC has been able to ascertain that the AML laws of specific countries cover the jewelry industry or some aspect of the industry. The list is available on JVC’s website. It may not be complete, so call the JVC if you have questions about a country not included on the list. Also keep in mind that this list will change as countries change their laws.