Eight suspects have now been apprehended in relation to the fraudulent alteration of 1,042 Gemological Institute of America (GIA) diamond grading reports.
The crime, announced by the GIA in October 2015, was believed to have involved several former employees of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the contractor responsible for supporting the GIA’s databases, as well as other parties unrelated to the GIA or TCS.
It was said the offenders remotely hacked into the computer database and modified the grading information on reports submitted between November 2014 and September 2015.
The GIA immediately invalidated the reports and published a list of their details on its website. However, despite making three requests for their return – twice in October and once in November – and offering a free service to verify the authenticity of suspect grading certificates, only 297 reports had been submitted for re-examination as at 26 January 2016.
For this reason, the GIA has extended its free confirmation service for an additional two months until 31 March 2016.
“It is imperative that all of the diamonds and their reports be returned to GIA to remove the fraudulently altered reports from the market,” a GIA announcement read.
“The gem and jewellery trade must hold those who commit such fraudulent acts accountable for their actions. The cooperation of the trade is vital as GIA works to fully address this fraud.”
The statement also outlined that the GIA and TCS were working with the Indian police and that the investigation was ongoing.
As previously reported by Jeweller, two former TCS employees were placed in custody over the matter in October 2015. No further details were provided about the additional six people who were recently arrested.
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