EU court upholds asset freeze on Central African diamond traders

An EU court on Thursday upheld the bloc's freeze on the funds of two companies charged with trafficking in conflict diamonds and supporting armed groups in the Central African Republic.

In 2015, the European Union decided to block the European assets of Badica, a large diamond trading firm in the Central African Republic, and its Belgian unit Kardiam.

The companies argued that the freeze was not warranted saying it was not sufficiently proven that they had supported armed groups by trading natural resources. The court rejected this view.

"By continuing to purchase diamonds from collectors, Badica and Kardiam necessarily provided support to armed groups," the EU's General Court said in a statement.

The companies did not immediately comment on the ruling.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)