EGL Investigating Fraudulent Certificates, JCSA Seeking Person (Updated)
July 16, 09
A day after the Diamond Dealers Club of South Africa issued a fraudulent certificates alert, the Jewellery Council of South Africa in an emailed plea asked for information about the whereabouts of a person named Asher Mesilati.
On Tuesday, the South African diamond exchange warned of forged GIA certificates accompanying HPHT treated diamonds without disclosing the treatments.
Mesilati sold a number of treated diamonds that were accompanied by the forged certificates, Joyce Bennett, Admin Manager Diamonds at the Jewellery Council, told IDEX Online. He was introduced to a number of traders by a local broker. Two complaints were filed in connection to the sale of these goods.
Bennett said that Mesilati, an Israeli, was not a member of the Israel Diamond Exchange.
Together with the emailed request, the Jewellery Council attached a photo of Mesilati.
In addition, and EGL (South Africa) warned of four certificate forgeries of non-treated diamonds.
“These are obvious forgeries and would be easily spotted in the trade,” EGL SA Managing Director Alan Lowe wrote in the letter. The gem lab, he added, has been investigating the matter.
(Last update, July 21, 2009 10:19 am)