Six More Arrested in GIA Hacking Case

Six more people have been arrested in relation to the hacking of Gemological Institute of America (GIA) diamond-grading reports by outside parties as the investigation into the case continues.

A total of eight arrests have now been made as a result of cooperation between the GIA, the Indian authorities and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the contractor that supports GIA databases, according to a GIA statement January 26.

 In another development, the GIA has extended its submission date for the confirmation service for members of the trade concerned about the validity of their grading reports by two months to March 31, 2016.

Members of the trade with a GIA report originally issued between November 2014 and October 2015 who are concerned about its validity may submit the original report and the referenced diamond to any GIA location at no charge by the new deadline.

To date only 297 of 1,042 invalidated reports have been returned to the GIA. As of November 26, only 175 of the reports had been returned and two arrests had been made.

“It is imperative that all of the diamonds and their reports be returned to GIA to remove the fraudulently altered reports from the market,” the statement said.

De Beers first sight for 2016 is $540 million USD

 

 

De Beers Rough Diamonds

 

De Beers the sold $540m worth of diamonds in its first of sale of the year more than double the value of the sales achieved in the final sight of 2015. 

 

Prices for rough diamonds softened last year because of an oversupply of diamonds in the production centres forcing companies such as De Beers and Alrosa, to cut their supply of rough to the market in an effort to restore prices. 

 

Rough diamond demand broadened across the entire range as cutting and polishing factories began to increase their production. 

 

De Beers has said it will change the way it operates its sights to become more flexible and responsive to its clients. 

 

Source; DCLA