Diamond Standard Coins and Bars Approved for Islamic Finance
June 03, 25
(IDEX Online) - Diamond Standard says its coins and bars, containing standardized sets of natural diamonds, have been approved as Sharia-compliant for Islamic finance.
Lending money with interest is prohibited under Sharia (Islamic religious law) so banks employ cost-plus-profit arrangements instead, backed by nickel, copper, aluminum and some other commodities (not gold, silver, or food).
Diamond Standard, which has pioneered the use of graded, certified diamonds as a tradeable commodity in coins and bars has now won approval from Sheikh Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari, an authority in Islamic finance, based in Saudi Arabia.
He has issued a fatwa (formal, legal ruling) approving the use of diamond commodities to enable more efficient and more proper Islamic finance applications.
Diamonds offer huge savings in terms of delivery and storage, compared to other commodities because of their high value.
Cormac Kinney, founder and CEO of Diamond Standard, said: "We intended to unlock $1.2 trillion of natural diamonds as an investment asset, but their dense value, combined with modern technology, has surprisingly made diamonds ideal for Islamic finance.
"We are honored to offer this asset to strengthen Islamic values."
Diamond Standard has also established a commodity holding and trading company in the Gulf Cooperation Council, with $280m in capital commitments, to supply diamond commodities to Islamic financial institutions and trading platforms
And they have also selected the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) for audited, tax-free custody of the diamond commodities, so avoiding tariffs on diamonds entering the US and elsewhere.