Gitanjali Loses Sightholder Status

RAPAPORT... De Beers has terminated the sightholder status of Gitanjali Gems following fraud allegations against the Indian jeweler's managing director,Mehul Choksi. De Beers took the decision in February, meaning Gitanjalican no longer make any purchases from the company, a spokesperson for the roughproducer confirmed in a statement to Rapaport News Monday. "De Beers has introduced more rigorous financial compliancecriteria for sightholders that require full compliance for financial accountsthat started on or after January 1, 2017," the spokesperson said. He declinedto comment on the Gitanjali case specifically. In February, Punjab National Bank alleged that Choksi andhis nephew, jeweler Nirav Modi, had defrauded the lender of $2 billion by obtainingunauthorized loans. Gitanjali's share price has slumped about 90% since February 12. Modi's US-based diamond companies, Firestar Diamond, Fantasyand A. Jaffe, were never sightholders, De Beers confirmed. Firestar has been a customerof De Beers' auction-sales business in the past, but that status is no longeractive, it added.