Four Traders Sentenced to Prison in Antwerp Certificate Fraud

(IDEX Online News) – Four diamond traders have been sentenced to prison and given substantial mandatory fines by the Correctional Court in Antwerp for committing fraud concerning diamond certificates.

According to the AWDC, the traders bribed an employee from the HRD Antwerp diamond lab in order to obtain certificates that falsely stated a higher color grade for their diamonds than the stones merited.

This enabled them to fraudulently sell their diamonds for a substantially higher price than the actual value of the diamonds in question.

The public prosecutor is also submitting an appeal to enable another firm involved to receive even heavier sentences, an appeal followed by HRD Antwerp and AWDC.

 “We are pleased that the court hands down very harsh penalties on these types of crimes,” said AWDC CEO Ari Epstein.

“These judgments deliver an unmistakable message: those who break the rules will be punished severely. In our industry, everything depends on trust – when you give your word, you keep it. Those that violate that principle damage the reputation of the entire industry, and that is simply unacceptable.”