GIA continues to work closely with its database support contractor TCS and the Indian police to further the investigation of this fraud against the trade.
The two former TCS employees who made the unauthorized changes to the GIA grading information database were arrested and GIA has suspended the client accounts through which the diamonds in question were submitted. The police investigation continues; GIA will share new information about the investigation that arises.
To address concerns in the trade following the announcement of the invalidated reports, GIA will offer a no-cost confirmation service for any diamond grading report originally issued from November 2014 through October 2015. Anyone with a GIA grading report originally issued in that timeframe who is concerned about the accuracy of the report may submit the original report and the referenced diamond to any GIA location for a confirmation service at no charge. The no-cost confirmation service will be available until January 30, 2016. The diamond and original report must be submitted together using the service name ‘confirmation service’ to obtain the no-fee invoice.
The 1,042 invalidated reports are a very small percentage of the diamond grading reports issued by GIA from November 2014 through October 2015. To date, only 175 of the diamonds with altered reports have been returned to GIA for examination. It is imperative that all of the diamonds and their reports be returned to GIA for examination to remove the fraudulently altered reports from the market.
The diamond trade must hold those who would commit such fraudulent acts accountable for their actions. The cooperation of the trade is vital as GIA works to fully address this fraud.
GIA will continue to focus on building consumer confidence and trust by making public any effort by any individual, company or organization to defraud the trade or consumers.
