The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) is mourning the passing of Sergey Oulin, who died on December 31, at the age of 69.
WFDB president Ernie Blom has, on behalf of the organisation, expressed sadness at the loss of Oulin, who was the president of the Diamond Chamber of Russia and a former member of the WFDB executive committee.
In paying tribute to Oulin, Blom said he had “contributed immensely to the growth of the international diamond industry through the years that he was associated with the industry", particularly in his role as the vice-chairperson of the World Diamond Council (WDC) during the early days of the Kimberley Process (KP).
Oulin was closely associated with the diamond industry in Russia for nearly two decades, holding many different positions of responsibility in industry bodies both within the country and internationally.
“Sergey played a key role in developing the system of checks and balances that ensured that conflict diamonds did not enter the diamond pipeline and was closely associated with the establishment of the KP mechanism within his country,” Blom added in a statement issued this week.
He added that Oulin was one of the early advocates of an apex industry body that brought together stakeholders from across the pipeline on a common platform to discuss and act together on common industry issues.