Category: Lab Grown Diamond

A Namibian member of parliament has criticized security arrangements made at Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia), following a $17m armed raid in January.

Job Amupanda claims the state-owned diamond marketing company subsequently appointed an unqualified security consultant, and hired his son to install a new security system.

Namdia said in a statement that it had “taken note of recent social media posts containing unsubstantiated allegations,” but did not categorically deny all claims.

Amupanda, an opposition MP known for actively challenging state-owned enterprises, is also asking why Namdia’s was using Neldan, an Angola-based security company, at the time of the raid.

And he has voiced doubts over the adequacy of Namdia’s security upgrades after the heist.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) that has been viewed 25,000 times, he said Namdia “brought in a guy as a security consultant, who doesn’t have any qualifications and without following procurement procedures.

“He also doesn’t have a job description. He had his son install a security system.”

Aside from Amupanda’s criticisms, the police warned Namdia of a possible imminent heist before it happened, and advised the company to be vigilant and upgrade security.

Francis “Gosh” Eiseb, aged 57, a senior security supervisor at Namdia, was killed during the heist.

Six suspects, three from the same family – George, Charmaine and Bino Cloete – have since been arrested in connection with the raid.

A relative of the Cloetes – a security guard believed to have taken the diamonds at the scene – remains at large.

Namdia’s CEO, chief operations officer, and security manager remain suspended pending the outcome of an investigation.

In a media statement Namdia said it had implemented critical security upgrades, but said it couldn’t provide details.

It accepted, as Amupanda claimed, that it bypassed procurement procedures, but said it was allowed to do in critical situations.

Namdia also said it had appointed a new security consultant, but gave no details of his qualifications or suitability.

“Prior to this appointment, security services had been provided by Neldan, a Namibian-registered company with operations in several countries, including Angola,” it said. “That contract, however, had come to its natural conclusion.”

Source: IDEX

India today appeared to be edging towards a last-minute “mini trade deal” that could see the US back down on its proposed 27 per cent reciprocal tariffs.

President Donald Trump said earlier today on Tuesday said that the US was was “close to making a deal with India,” with just hours left before the deadline at 12.01am EST on Wednesday 9 July.

Such a deal would come as a huge relief for the country’s diamond industry, which has been largely paralyzed by three months of uncertainty since President Donald Trump made his “Liberation Day” speech on 2 April.

A deal between the two countries would be limited in scope, according to reports, but would likely cover diamonds.

It could include a partial rollback of reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US earlier this year, but the 10 per cent baseline tariff on most goods is expected to remain.

If no deal is reached, the tariffs will automatically take effect from 1 August.

So far only the UK and Vietnam have managed to reach a full deal – and China a partial deal – ahead of the 9 July deadline.

Source: IDEX

A collaboration by Pandora, the world’s biggest jewelry brand, and the e-commerce platform Amazon, has smashed a sophisticated counterfeiting network in China and led to the jailing of two crime bosses.

It also led to the seizure of thousands of fake Pandora jewelry items in a raid by Chinese law enforcement.

Pandora began investigating the source of counterfeit jewelry from China in 2020 after a series of customs seizures.

“It worked with counterfeit crimes unit at Amazon to identify two sellers operating a large-scale counterfeit network.

The probe led to the arrest and conviction of two people in March of this year. They were jailed for a combined total of five years and fined by a court in Shanghai for selling counterfeit items in several European countries.

Pandora, the Danish jeweler best known for its charm bracelets, said it was “committed to protecting our brand from the threat of counterfeit products”.

Peter Ring, senior vice president and general counsel at Pandora, said: “By combining our global brand protection expertise with Amazon’s investigative capabilities, we supported local law enforcement in dismantling a sophisticated criminal network.

“This case marks an important step forward in our ongoing efforts to safeguard the integrity of our brand and the quality our customers expect and trust us to deliver.”

Kebharu Smith, director of Amazon’s counterfeit crimes unit, said: “Counterfeiting is one of the oldest crimes in history, and we’re tackling it with our cutting-edge proactive tools and technology.

“Our collaboration with Pandora successfully dismantled a ring of bad actors, removing counterfeits from the broader supply chain.”

Source: IDEX