Antwerp Police Arrest 4 in HRD Misconduct Case

(IDEX Online News) – Two traders, a former HRD Antwerp employee and a "facilitator" were arrested by Antwerp police as suspects in the HRD misconduct case, the local Antwerp press reported over the weekend.

In March, HRD Antwerp announced that it has asked four graders to resign for alleged misconduct and opened an investigation that found "grading improprieties."

The lab decided to pass the findings to the judicial authorities and three diamond firms have been asked to clear their account at HRD Antwerp.

Police suspect that the diamond traders bribed graders to provide higher grading than the diamonds should receive, according to the reports.

IDEX Online has learned that in one instance a large diamond graded at HRD Antwerp was graded two colors lower by another lab.

HRD Antwerp has not named the three companies removed from its list of clients nor has it revealed any details about the events that led to the graders' dismissal.