Antwerp's diamond offices raided

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Antwerp's diamond offices raided

October 22, 2008

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Antwerp, Belgium—Belgium's federal police raided offices in Antwerp's diamond district last week, confiscating $150 million in goods, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) confirmed to National Jeweler.

According to the AWDC, authorities confiscated $50 million in diamonds at the Diamond Office, Antwerp's import and export agency. The other $100 million worth of goods was confiscated at the offices of a diamond company.

Over the past two years, the area of Antwerp that houses the city's diamond industry, known as the Diamond Square Mile, has seen its share of police raids in relation to the "Monstrey Case," which involves alleged money laundering.

But AWDC officials said this raid is part of a different investigation.

In the interest of protecting Antwerp's diamond trade, the AWDC has appealed to the federal authorities to stop raids in the city's diamond district.

Their appeals have met with mixed success, with the authorities, in some cases, returning confiscated goods.

Currently, legislation banning the confiscation of goods is awaiting parliamentary approval, a process that could take months, according to the AWDC.

In addition, earlier this week, the AWDC released the results of an independent study by the University of Leuven that highlights the importance of diamonds to the Belgian economy.

Diamonds, according to the study, are the country's single largest export outside the European Union, contributing 1.6 billion euro ($2.06 billion) to the country's 2.3 million euro ($2.95 billion) trade balance.

The sector also provides 34,000 jobs, the study shows.

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