Report Links Leviev to Diamond-Smuggling Arrests

RAPAPORT... Israeli authorities suspect an employee at a Lev Leviev companyof smuggling hundreds of millions of shekels worth of diamonds into the country,according to local news website Ynet.A staff member at one of the diamond mogul's businesses in Russia is suspected of smuggling large quantities of the stones in suitcases when he moved to Israel six years ago, the Ynet report said. Police also arrested Leviev's son andbrother, according to Israeli media. Six people were arrested in total on Monday following an undercover investigation, a police spokesperson said. Police suspect them of money laundering, customs andincome-tax violations, conspiring to commit a crime, fraud, and making false assertions in company documents, adding that authorities planned to apprehend further suspects in Israel and elsewhere.The spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment onLeviev's connection to the case. Leviev's company was not immediately availablefor comment.Image: Lev Leviev. (Avner Leviev)