Rough Diamond Trader Stelman in Receivership

Israeli rough diamond trader Stelman was appointed a receiver by a Tel Aviv court late last week, on the eve of the Passover holiday. By Sunday morning, Israeli diamond companies have not turned to the legal department of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) to report that they are owed money, however Stelman’s has debts to the banks, estimated at well over $20 million.

“I’m very sad that this happened,” IDE President Avi Paz told IDEX Online. “For more than ten days we tried to resolve the issue with the banks.”

The company is trying to arrive at debt settlements, according to Paz who added he hopes they succeed. Paz said that to the best of his knowledge, with the exception of Erez Daliyot - an Israeli trader based in Antwerp, no Israeli diamond companies are owed money by Stelman.

The company, a family owned firm, is a branch of an Antwerp headquartered company. According to reports, Daliyot is owed more than $5 million. Until recently, he was one of the largest Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Sightholders and one of the largest rough diamond traders.