21 February 2013
Armed robbers made off with a massive haul of diamonds in Brussels, but is
it possible to spot a stolen gem?
The diamonds lost in the Belgian heist are worth $50m (£32m; 37m euros) and
there's been speculation they may never be recovered.
Can stolen diamonds be distinctive to the dealers through whose hands they
would pass?
Uncut or rough diamonds do have distinctive characteristics, coming in many
different shapes, sizes and, colours. They can be twisted or two diamonds can
be stuck together.
We tend to think of diamonds as translucent or bluish white but they can
also be blue, brown, red, yellow, pink, black, or green, depending on the
presence of elements other than carbon and on radiation.
The shape of rough diamonds will also depend on whether they come from a
mine or from a beach or river.
They could theoretically therefore be distinctive to an eagle-eyed dealer
who knew that a particular group of diamonds was stolen.
But this is all about rough diamonds. It's harder to guess where a cut and
polished diamond has come from.
And even then the idea of distinguishing rough diamonds based on their
characteristics is not really practical because of the nature of the trade.
Antwerp near Brussels is a centre for the sorting of diamonds. The stolen
diamonds could have come from mines around the world and been sorted and graded
in Antwerp before being moved on.
The UN developed the Kimberley Process to monitor the trade in rough
diamonds and prevent gems being used to fund violence.
Before they can be exported, all rough diamonds need to have a certificate
from the government of the country they were mined or found in.
In essence, this certificate says that the diamonds have not been used to
finance crime. In theory, all countries that are part of the Kimberley Process
issue these certificates.
In practice however, some countries, such as Venezuela, do not.
The Kimberley Process only applies to rough diamonds as they cross borders.
It does not apply to sales of rough diamonds within a country. Such sales would
be authenticated with an invoice, which could of course be falsified.
India cuts and polishes 90% of the world's diamonds. The other main places
for cutting and polishing are China, Israel and the United States.
The thieves would need to smuggle the diamonds into any of these countries,
but once they were in, forging paperwork would allow them to be sold on.
"These people were not amateurs, they won't be thinking about how they
get rid of these diamonds now, they will have probably got the route planned in
advance," says Ian Smillie, author of Blood on the Stone: Greed,
Corruption and War.
The thieves have several options. The first is to sell them on soon.
However, to do so they may have to accept a large loss on the legitimate value
of the stones.
The second is to sell them to factories where the diamonds will be cut and
polished. Once a diamond is cut up and polished its origins are effectively
disguised.
Their origins can be disguised by what is known as diamond round-tripping,
where polished diamonds are traded between India and Dubai up to half a dozen
times. This trade can be used to disguise the origin of diamonds before sale.
"The diamonds will be sold on in small quantities in various cities
around the world," suggests Hourmouzios.
It may be that very few are ever recovered.
Make off – úspěšně odejít, ztratit se
Spot – zahlédnout, všimnout si
Heist – loupež
Disguise – přestrojení, zamaskovat (se)
Recover – získat zpět, obnovit
Distinctive – charakteristický, výrazný
Translucent – průsvitný
Authenticate – ověřit, potvrdit pravost
Round – obejít
Tripping – podrážení (např. při
fotbale)
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