Venezuelan President Maduro shocked the market in early December when he followed China's 'petro-yuan' futures announcement by making headlines of himself proclaiming a new national cryptocurrency - the 'Petro' - to overcome The West's "financial blockade."
US Treasury said Gertler has used his close relationship with the country’s president, Joseph Kabila, to amass a fortune through corrupt and opaque deals.
More than half the 2017 combined market cap gains for the world's largest listed miners accrued to just five firms as gold producers drop out of top 10.
While long-term diamond demand may be slowing, this year rough-diamond prices experienced positive turn-around and prices of polished diamonds stabilized.