Israel Bourse Bans Traders for Synthetics Swapping

RAPAPORT The Israel Diamond Exchange has kicked out two bourse members it suspects of swapping natural diamonds with synthetics The traders were allegedly complicit in switching D-color, high-clarity polished diamonds weighing 3 to 5 carats with lab-grown stones, IDE president Yoram Dvash told Rapaport News Thursday The traders came to the offices of a company in the bourse to view the goods, another source with knowledge of the matter said.

Footage from closed-circuit television helped them track down the suspects, the source continued The accusations involved "Switching stones worth hundreds of thousands of dollars another bourse member," Israel Vanchovsky, the IDE's deputy director general, said in a note earlier last week that only referenced one of the suspects Bourse executives investigated the case and reported the suspected fraud to the police last week, Vanchovsky said.

It has banned the other suspect for 37 months, ensuring that he has to go through the full admission process if he wishes to return to the bourse. . Source