Speculation After DTC Warning: Will It Sacrifice A Sightholder To Demonstrate That It Is Serious About BPP?
October 27, 05 by Chaim Even-ZoharHas the DTC now locked itself in and will it have to sacrifice a sightholder to show that it is serious about its own Best Practice Principles? That was one of the questions raised after we first published that DTC managing director designate Varda Shine’s reaction to the Certifigate scandal in an extraordinary warning... Read More...
"Certifigate": Now The Cover-Up
October 20, 05 by Chaim Even-ZoharIn virtually every “gate” in recent history, the very discovery of the crimes always paled in its next phase: The cover-up. If history repeats itself, the greatest disgrace, humiliation and damage are done while the crimes are being covered up. This is the last thing that I expected to happen – and I have written in these columns that the GIA Board of Governors seems to be determined to get to the bottom of this. I probably was wrong – dead wrong. Read More...
Due Diligence: Arkady Gaidamak Is Pro-Government
October 14, 05 by Chaim Even-ZoharWhen a man who hitherto used to live in the shadows, shunning publicity and preferring to operate as a quiet power-broker, suddenly makes great efforts to become a popular highly visible media personality... Read More...
Certifigate: No Bribe without a Briber
October 06, 05 by Chaim Even-ZoharBribery, corruption and fraud are just a few of the predicate money laundering offenses which are patently illegal in virtually every part of the world. The impact of trillions of dollars of dirty money, derived from many types of illegal activities, produces a litany of harmful outcomes that devastate... Read More...
Banking Facilities for the Politically Correct
September 29, 05 by Chaim Even-ZoharAntwerp’s Dexia bank has informed its diamond clients that it is withdrawing from the diamond financing business. In a letter to its clients, Dexia states that its decision "is based on several elements related to the financing of the diamond sector." One of the elements, we learned, is related... Read More...
Privileged Access
September 22, 05 by Chaim Even-Zohar“Why are you keeping silent about the GIA certification scandals – are you scared?” This is only one of a few similar e-mails in my inbox. Scared? No. “Reluctant” probably describes it better. I vividly remember (no pun intended) that a few years ago, when preparing a story on the... Read More...
The Law of Unintended Consequences
September 15, 05 by Chaim Even-ZoharWhen governments enact laws, one must expect and assume that these serve the best interests of the people affected by these laws. The latest draft of the Diamond Amendment Act in South Africa contains some provisions which make considerable sense – and others one could take issue with. What may be difficult to... Read More...
Stephen Lussier: Getting To Take The Hottest Potatoes Out Of The Fire
September 09, 05 by Chaim Even-ZoharLast week we commented on the decision-making process that led to the appointment of Varda Shine as Managing Director-designate of the DTC. We didn’t say much about the “other big story”, the move of the DTC Executive Director for Marketing, Stephen Lussier, to the Board of De Beers. It’s amazing how... Read More...
The DTC’s Iron Lady and the Politics on the Way to the Top
September 02, 05 by Chaim Even-ZoharIf De Beers were still a public company, the announcement of the appointment of Varda Shine as Managing Director of the DTC would have been a reason to conduct a “road show” among shareholding financial institutions, an opportunity to make a “buy” recommendation for the company shares, and an opportunity to stress that Read More...
South Africa is Still Waiting for the New Diamond Act
August 25, 05 by Chaim Even-ZoharThe South African diamond industry finds itself under a cloud of uncertainty – waiting almost a decade for a new diamond law to be enacted. The “old law”, the Diamond Act of 1986, became unconstitutional in the mid 1990s, when the Apartheid state collapsed and democracy was introduced. The current Act limits the possession of... Read More...
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