De Beers Wins London Court Case – Judge Also Finds That Soc Ombudsman Erred
March 02, 07 by Chaim Even-ZoharThe Court has spoken. The Honorable Mr. Justice Henderson in the London High Court has dismissed all allegations made by Jayam N.V. against the DTC. The claimant charged that the DTC’s allocation system and, in particular, its use of a "capping mechanism," which is based on historical... Read More...
Diamonds Homecoming in Botswana
February 22, 07 by Chaim Even-ZoharDriving in Botswana’s murderous summer heat from the Sir Seretze Khama airport near Gaborone to the city, one immediately passes an enormous construction project – the new DTC Botswana building. And next to this, DTC-to-be is the new Debswana building in the making. The surrounding construction is reminiscent of the building craze in places like Dubai. Actually, when driving... Read More...
The New Friends Of De Beers
February 15, 07 by Chaim Even-ZoharWhen visiting South Africa, it is always fascinating to see how De Beers, its chairman Nicky Oppenheimer, and its managing director Gareth Penny are portrayed by the local establishment press. In that regard, this week was definitely one of the better ones for De Beers. In a cover story, the highly respected Financial Mail hails Penny’s ascendancy “from villain... Read More...
U.S. Tax Officials: Biting Without Teeth...
February 08, 07 by Chaim Even-ZoharFor many years, we have pleaded in these columns that no government should pass diamond industry specific anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) legislation without consultation with the industry. We feared more Belgium-type situations where the rules are so out-of-tune with accepted industry... Read More...
Omnipotent Ombudsman
February 01, 07 by Chaim Even-ZoharForget about all the juicy stuff going on in the London High Court case (Jayam N.V. versus DTC), which includes admissions by the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) that it had provided wrong information to the Ombudsman, had used extraneous data in its allocation process (outside of the Sightholder profile), and that its legal department was caught unaware of the facts... Read More...
My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
January 25, 07 by Chaim Even-ZoharDuring the past few days, Antwerp and New York have demonstrated something about the ocean-sized gap that exists between the respective diamond and jewelry industries and their regulators who enforce anti-money laundering laws. In Antwerp, in the so-called Monstrey Worldwide Services courier case, a dozen diamond offices were raided, close to 10 people were arrested, and goods and records were seized; some 40 detectives participated in the action. According to newspaper reports, “the anti... Read More...
DTC’s Shine Eyes Return To “Human” Intervention in Computerized Rough Allocation Process – Reveals Details of Modified SoC Strategy
January 18, 07 by Chaim Even-ZoharThe place and time: This past Tuesday night at 10:00 pm, the El Al lounge at Heathrow Airport, London. The people: a handful of diamond industry earthlings, plus yours truly, who either were not privileged to attend that evening’s annual DTC dinner with clients or who, for other reasons, chose not to go. The activity: receiving “live” cell phone reports on the actual tidings emanating from. Read More...
Fabrikant’s Main Lenders Settle for 55 Cents to the Dollar – Trade Creditors May Be Left in the Cold
January 11, 07 by Chaim Even-ZoharFabrikant’s eight main U.S. secured lenders have all, in separate and unrelated actions, sold their debts to five different hedge funds that specialize in investing in bankruptcies and distressed companies. The total amount involved is $161.9 million of debt, which was sold for approximately $85 to $90 million. This amount, from a banker’s perspective, was much better than they expected. Read More...
Prepare for a New DTC Marketing Strategy
January 04, 07 by Chaim Even-ZoharThe New Year has arrived – heralding in a year of transition for De Beers, the DTC, their Sightholders, and the rest of the market. The Supplier of Choice marketing mechanism, as we know it today, will expire on December 31, 2007. It has outlived its era. It has become yesterday’s strategy. Thus the year 2007 will become (and must become) a year of transition, planning and “getting... Read More...
Russia: In Search of a Future Without De Beers
December 28, 06 by Chaim Even-ZoharWith 2007 fast approaching, many of us are wondering what will the next year bring? Some answers to that question are obvious: De Beers will drop Supplier of Choice and replace it with something else; the reduced intake (and obligations to support beneficiation in African countries) will lead to a dramatically reduced DTC client list; the liquidity and synthetic issues... Read More...
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