The U.S. government estimates that smuggled African diamonds represent 10 percent to 15 percent of the global diamond trade, a State Department official said, a share worth $5 billion to $7 billion per year at current pricesThe Post goes on to state that Belgium imported 8.3 million carats of rough diamonds from Liberia in 1997-1998
Liberia only produces 60,000 carats a year.
Belgium has announced arrest warrents are out for Victor Bout and Lebanese diamond merchants Samih Ossailly and Sanjivan Ruprah. In the same press release, Belgium mentioned an immediate investigation of Limo Diamonds. Bout, Ossailly and Ruprah are suspected of trading arms to Al Qaeda for diamonds. Belgium did not say why Limo diamonds is being investigated but one can surmise.
The directors of Limo Diamonds are Moshe Fisher and Israel Fisher. One of their offices is in the Ramat Gan diamond exchange in Tel Aviv.
Shmuel Shnitzer and a "Mr. Gertler" (who operates out of Liberia and Sierra Leone, where Al Qaeda selling diamonds) are reported by the UN to have traded arms for diamonds in Africa. Both are prominent dealers in the Ramat Gan diamond exchange.
Details and links here:
Why is there no mention of their other offices and their locations?