A bank that recently agreed to a settlement which will see it pay millions of dollars worth of fines to the U.S. governing authorities may inadvertently also hinder the development of the diamond industry of Botswana by denying funds to a facility that facilitates local beneficiation, Polished Prices reported.



The Standard Chartered Bank consented to pay American regulators $340 million as punishment for having traded with Iran, in contravention of American sanctions. The fine may preclude the bank from following through on its plans to help fund an industrial park in Botswana where value can be added to diamonds.



The facility allows diamond producers to acquire financing, which they could use to expand operations involved in cutting and polishing rough diamonds.



One of the projects' funders, OPIC – Overseas Private Investment Corporation – is an agent of the American government that aims to facilitate the entry of its citizens' capital into African businesses, according to Polished Prices. It is thought that OPIC will not agree to participate in a project where the primary funding for it came from a company that it has most recently been at serious odds with.