Buying Rough in Congo

[vangelis7]

So....here's another scam likely situation...but hear me out. I took a business trip to Congo on something totally unrelated to diamonds. While there, I had lunch with the assistant to a government official who is nationally known (he appears on TV alot, and everywhere we went, people 'saluted' him). During lunch, he revealed that he recently applied for the government's mining license (12K USD) and was looking for partners. We asked what he could provide. He offered legal export (with a commission, like 6-10%), introduction to miners in Tshikapa and Mbuju Maiy, as well as assistance to network me to buyers in Australia. He recommended a startup capital of 250,000. I can't even do half that, but I am vaguely curious as to what pitfalls I could run into. While there, we met sellers with parcels of stones, colored, white, as well as the famous diamond street in Kinshasa. We even went to the official government export house as well. So....the question is, what is street price for diamonds at the mines (per carat) vs. in Kinshasa, vs. who and where do I sell to abroad?

 

[vangelis7]

Also, after spending alot of time on instagram, I've noticed that there are many sellers who advertise the dates, the size of stones, the price, and if these guys are bogus, who is buying all these stones? From CAR, DRC, Sierra Leone, Angola, Namibia....what to believe?

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Hi Vangelis,

A day probably does not suffice to list all potential pitfalls. Thus, let me ask you some questions, which may clarify your position:

- Do you realize that rough diamonds are generally sorted in about 20,000 different assortments (size, color, clarity, shape, usage, ...), with values of the rough ranging from 0.05 $/Ct up to 50,000 $/Ct (and higher)?
- Various groups of assortments have specialized customers. Do you have any of these?
- How are you going to value your purchase if you do not know your potential sales-price, not even whom you target to sell to, how can you judge your purchase-price?
- Can you even judge whether stones presented as diamonds are diamonds?
- Do you know the standard professional procedure of handling such purchases, and how are you going to avoid errors, which will give away that you can be taken advantage of?

Live long,

 

[skypie]

@vangelis7 Are you in the diamond trade? Are you an expert on diamonds? If not, it seems highly suspicious that you would be offered such an investment opportunity.

 

[vangelis7]

Thank you Paul, your prescient response is both dead on and sobering. I have actually thought long about this, and have the following response:

It's true, the blue stone that I viewed (I have pictures) was considered fancy, and the seller mentioned that these can range from a few thousand per carat to tens of thousands per carat. But to me, this is of no significance as long as my bottom line is met, in other words, if I buy the stone cheaply enough, for me it is enough.

I have been dialoguing with a number of sellers, and right now, the market for small volume is in the 5-10 carat range. I am told that right now, Bangkok, and Tel Aviv will pay well for diamonds in this range.

The sellers that I deal with have all graded stones (even assumably above their real grading). Even diggers I understand without loupes have the ability to gauge in some rough level the value of their finds. Is it fair to say that I go in with the mentality that I want to pay 150-175 per carat as a baseline, and with rare exception, not exceed 250 per carat? For me, the biggest issue is buying cheaply.

My contact assures me that I can get the certificates (DRC is a participating country in the Kimberley process) and certificates that must accompany each stone. I have briefly inquired about the best places to sell, and it seems that Bangkok has less difficulties as far as importing stones is concerned.

So....after all that, am I close? Out in left field?

 

[vangelis7]

@vangelis7 Are you in the diamond trade? Are you an expert on diamonds? If not, it seems highly suspicious that you would be offered such an investment opportunity.

Definitely not. My contact is neither a diamantaire, but a professor and politician. He knows only that in his country, this means of business offers substantial rewards, and he lives in Australia, but serves in an official government capacity. He knows I know nothing either, but he does know that the trade is lucrative, and people are making money in it. Does one have to go to school to engage in the business? Besides the higher levels of the trade, where stones are being selected for various applications, cannot someone who has a rudimentary knowledge of the trade simply act as a middleman between diggers and sell up the chain?

 

[vangelis7]

Hi Vangelis,

A day probably does not suffice to list all potential pitfalls. Thus, let me ask you some questions, which may clarify your position:

- Do you realize that rough diamonds are generally sorted in about 20,000 different assortments (size, color, clarity, shape, usage, ...), with values of the rough ranging from 0.05 $/Ct up to 50,000 $/Ct (and higher)?
- Various groups of assortments have specialized customers. Do you have any of these?
- How are you going to value your purchase if you do not know your potential sales-price, not even whom you target to sell to, how can you judge your purchase-price?
- Can you even judge whether stones presented as diamonds are diamonds?
- Do you know the standard professional procedure of handling such purchases, and how are you going to avoid errors, which will give away that you can be taken advantage of?

Live long,

Thank you Paul, your prescient response is both dead on and sobering. I have actually thought long about this, and have the following response:

It's true, the blue stone that I viewed (I have pictures) was considered fancy, and the seller mentioned that these can range from a few thousand per carat to tens of thousands per carat. But to me, this is of no significance as long as my bottom line is met, in other words, if I buy the stone cheaply enough, for me it is enough.

I have been dialoguing with a number of sellers, and right now, the market for small volume is in the 5-10 carat range. I am told that right now, Bangkok, and Tel Aviv will pay well for diamonds in this range.

The sellers that I deal with have all graded stones (even assumably above their real grading). Even diggers I understand without loupes have the ability to gauge in some rough level the value of their finds. Is it fair to say that I go in with the mentality that I want to pay 150-175 per carat as a baseline, and with rare exception, not exceed 250 per carat? For me, the biggest issue is buying cheaply.

My contact assures me that I can get the certificates (DRC is a participating country in the Kimberley process) and certificates that must accompany each stone. I have briefly inquired about the best places to sell, and it seems that Bangkok has less difficulties as far as importing stones is concerned.

So....after all that, am I close? Out in left field?

 

[skypie]

Definitely not. My contact is neither a diamantaire, but a professor and politician. He knows only that in his country, this means of business offers substantial rewards, and he lives in Australia, but serves in an official government capacity. He knows I know nothing either, but he does know that the trade is lucrative, and people are making money in it. Does one have to go to school to engage in the business? Besides the higher levels of the trade, where stones are being selected for various applications, cannot someone who has a rudimentary knowledge of the trade simply act as a middleman between diggers and sell up the chain?

No, of course not. However, aren't you wondering why they would want to engage someone who "knows nothing" about the trade to act as middle man? What value are you adding to the chain and why would they want to cut you in on the deal?

It just seems risky and sets off some alarm bells in my head but if you are investing money that you would be comfortable losing (in its entirety) then perhaps it's not a big deal.

 

[lovedogs]

This is an incredibly risky idea, and the potential for losing all the money you invest is high. My alarm bells would be screaming, and I would never entertain anything like this.

EDIT. are you not even a little suspicious that you are going entirely on the word of random people who are telling you how much this stuff is worth, without any way to verify their claims??

 

[ChristineRose]

If this screamed scam any louder your eardrums would burst.

Diamond production is a very small world. There are limited places to mine them, limited places to get them cut, and limited wholesalers who handle them. Even if you got some nice diamonds you'd have no idea what to do with them.

I'm certain this guy offers this scam to every business person he has contact with. He's hoping that because of the turmoil in Congo you'll imagine you can get a bargain by doing something vaguely unethical.

 

[partgypsy]

This is my question whenever I hear of something like this. Why would this guy, who could easily find contacts of actual diamond companies who have capital and the ability to evaluate the rough and have a market, approach you, who they don't know and don't know anything about the market, how to evaluate diamonds how to sell diamonds, to do business with? The only reason I can see, is that you can be ripped off more effectively than someone who knows what they are doing.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/elderly-neighbors-in-colored-diamond-scam.235115/

 

[ringo865]

175 per carat? One.hundred.seventy-five? Per. Carat? USD? For diamonds? Lightbox? Or phonograph stylus, grinding dust or other industrial material (emphasis on “dust”)?

 

[Bron357]

Where to start.
What does your $250,000 buy?
A pile of raw diamonds that a random miner over in Congo has said is “great stuff worth thousands”?
So then you are getting the miner to send the gems to Bangkok for cutting?
And you have cutting contacts in Bangkok? And you’ve factored shipping, insurance and cutting costs Into your profitability calculations?
Then you are importing them to Australia (more shipping and insurance costs plus the need for you to have set up an appropriate business structure here to pay both the Australian import taxes and ordinary taxes).
And then you are hawking your diamonds around the handful of Australian diamond brokers, who already have their known and trusted supply chains in place btw, to sell for a vast profit?
To even get a toe in the door yours will have to be cheaper and/or better.
First thing, there are already millions of cut diamonds out there for sale.
Second thing, the diamond industry is at best static if not in decline for three reasons.
1. There is ample existing stock to satisfy demand.
2. Diamonds aren’t as popular as they once were. People aren’t buying as many diamonds for jewellery as they once were. Millennials are into life experiences and saving the world.
3. Other much cheaper competition ie Moissanite or Man made diamonds. Man made diamonds are considered more ethical to the new buyers coming through and are a lot cheaper than mined diamonds. Even De Beers has recognized this reality and is moving into the man made diamond industry.

You don’t have the ability (knowledge or experience) to assess the validity of the miners claims. Just because someone in another country who you don’t know and who has a vested financial interest in your believing them says “they’re great and worth heaps” doesn’t make it true.
You don’t have the contacts in Bangkok for cutting. Do you know who is reputable, whose prices and quality are good? Have you factored cutting loss into your calculations? A 5 carat rough diamond might result in a 2 carat or less cut diamond.
You don’t have diamond broker contacts other than those the Congo government official who lives in Australia (he is Embassy staff?) gives you.
Have you spoken with these people? Have you established that they will buy your diamonds and at what price?
Because that’s where you start.
You find out what price per carat Diamond broker A, B and C will pay you.
You then account for the commission to Congo guy, the business, legal and taxation costs involved to transact.
You then find out what cutting costs are, what insurance and shipping costs are per carat. You establish an average processing carat weight loss is.
You then can calculate what price you can pay the miner per carat to be profitable. You also have to factor in a % loss. Sometimes diamonds chip, split, cleave during the cutting process.
But the most crucial part of this model is the real quality of the raw diamond you are buying.
The ability to assess a raw crystal to estimate the resulting cut diamond. To estimate the cut carat weight, the probable colour and clarity.
The difference between a 1.70 carat J colour Si2 diamond and a 2.2 carat G colour VVS1 diamond is thousands of dollars.
And this part you know nothing about. This part is where the money making potential lies.
My advice, no.

 

[vangelis7]

Where to start.
What does your $250,000 buy?
A pile of raw diamonds that a random miner over in Congo has said is “great stuff worth thousands”?
So then you are getting the miner to send the gems to Bangkok for cutting?
And you have cutting contacts in Bangkok? And you’ve factored shipping, insurance and cutting costs Into your profitability calculations?
Then you are importing them to Australia (more shipping and insurance costs plus the need for you to have set up an appropriate business structure here to pay both the Australian import taxes and ordinary taxes).
And then you are hawking your diamonds around the handful of Australian diamond brokers, who already have their known and trusted supply chains in place btw, to sell for a vast profit?
To even get a toe in the door yours will have to be cheaper and/or better.
First thing, there are already millions of cut diamonds out there for sale.
Second thing, the diamond industry is at best static if not in decline for three reasons.
1. There is ample existing stock to satisfy demand.
2. Diamonds aren’t as popular as they once were. People aren’t buying as many diamonds for jewellery as they once were. Millennials are into life experiences and saving the world.
3. Other much cheaper competition ie Moissanite or Man made diamonds. Man made diamonds are considered more ethical to the new buyers coming through and are a lot cheaper than mined diamonds. Even De Beers has recognized this reality and is moving into the man made diamond industry.

You don’t have the ability (knowledge or experience) to assess the validity of the miners claims. Just because someone in another country who you don’t know and who has a vested financial interest in your believing them says “they’re great and worth heaps” doesn’t make it true.
You don’t have the contacts in Bangkok for cutting. Do you know who is reputable, whose prices and quality are good? Have you factored cutting loss into your calculations? A 5 carat rough diamond might result in a 2 carat or less cut diamond.
You don’t have diamond broker contacts other than those the Congo government official who lives in Australia (he is Embassy staff?) gives you.
Have you spoken with these people? Have you established that they will buy your diamonds and at what price?
Because that’s where you start.
You find out what price per carat Diamond broker A, B and C will pay you.
You then account for the commission to Congo guy, the business, legal and taxation costs involved to transact.
You then find out what cutting costs are, what insurance and shipping costs are per carat. You establish an average processing carat weight loss is.
You then can calculate what price you can pay the miner per carat to be profitable. You also have to factor in a % loss. Sometimes diamonds chip, split, cleave during the cutting process.
But the most crucial part of this model is the real quality of the raw diamond you are buying.
The ability to assess a raw crystal to estimate the resulting cut diamond. To estimate the cut carat weight, the probable colour and clarity.
The difference between a 1.70 carat J colour Si2 diamond and a 2.2 carat G colour VVS1 diamond is thousands of dollars.
And this part you know nothing about. This part is where the money making potential lies.
My advice, no.

Hi Bron,
Thanks. I've read similar posts from others online, the industry is full of scammers, full of cheats, too complex, too difficult to break into. I have to travel quite a bit for work as it is, and I thought about trying to develop a side interest with potential for income. I've been reading, and talking with people in the field. No trading centers and no buying houses will really give me much info, but I have been talking to people in the field, people who are buying from artisanal miners up and down the coast of Sierra Leone. One particular trader told me his origin story. An wounded vet of the IDF, he invested his insurance into the business. He begged for 6 months to a trader to teach him the industry, and after 6 months of cigar and brandy gifts, he agreed to teach him. He started him out in the basics of grading, and from there, polishing. It was that that made him go full time. I'm looking for someone who can teach me the ropes and usher me 'in' to the industry, I don't know how else to get my foot in the door.
I agree that the diamond industry is about to undergo a seismic shift. Movies like Blood Diamond are making the new generation reluctant to be involved in an industry that has human casualties attached to it, not to mention they don't spend money on things.
I realize that my naivete may be the path to folly, but I'd like to think that at the most basic level, the principle of making friendships, buying cheap, and finding a market still apply in this business. If I can learn to be able to grade stones, I think that it's the one step that would allow me entrance into this ultra exclusive guild.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Hi Bron,
Thanks. I've read similar posts from others online, the industry is full of scammers, full of cheats, too complex, too difficult to break into. I have to travel quite a bit for work as it is, and I thought about trying to develop a side interest with potential for income. I've been reading, and talking with people in the field. No trading centers and no buying houses will really give me much info, but I have been talking to people in the field, people who are buying from artisanal miners up and down the coast of Sierra Leone. One particular trader told me his origin story. An wounded vet of the IDF, he invested his insurance into the business. He begged for 6 months to a trader to teach him the industry, and after 6 months of cigar and brandy gifts, he agreed to teach him. He started him out in the basics of grading, and from there, polishing. It was that that made him go full time. I'm looking for someone who can teach me the ropes and usher me 'in' to the industry, I don't know how else to get my foot in the door.
I agree that the diamond industry is about to undergo a seismic shift. Movies like Blood Diamond are making the new generation reluctant to be involved in an industry that has human casualties attached to it, not to mention they don't spend money on things.
I realize that my naivete may be the path to folly, but I'd like to think that at the most basic level, the principle of making friendships, buying cheap, and finding a market still apply in this business. If I can learn to be able to grade stones, I think that it's the one step that would allow me entrance into this ultra exclusive guild.

I think you are extremely naïve. Do you honestly think that luck would just pluck you from the sea of humanity to make a large go of this with an almost zero knowledge of the business? Or any business for that matter? It takes time, knowledge and hard work. Don't kid yourself into thinking that you were just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. I am sure this is extended to lots of folks passing through - they only hope to find a taker or two. You seem rather intent on doing this and while I wish you all the best, I can only fear the worst.

 

[Bron357]

I’m an Aussie like you and I’m in no way denigrating your desire to educate yourself about the diamond industry and your endeavors to make money.
However of all the gemstone markets, the diamond industry is the hardest.
Diamonds are not rare, they have been found for centuries on many continents.
The competition is tough. If the diamonds from the Congo are fantastic, huge, marketable, don’t you think the “pros” in the industry would already know and already have checked them out? There are people who do nothing else but “look” for new opportunities on behalf of the big players.
Miners don’t care who they sell them rough to, they just want it sold. If it was great the “big guys” would have already swooped in taken the pick of the pile. What’s left behind they don’t want because it’s not profitable, it’s not commerical, not worth the effort.
So Mr Miner has a pile of substandard rough that the professionals don’t want.
Hello sucker!
People go to Burma thinking they can snaffle Burmese rubies for a pittance from some naive, uneducated miner. They think traipsing through the jungle for miles and coming across said miner wearing no shoes, living in a mud hut has no idea about the value of Burmese rubies.
OMG you could NOT be more wrong.
These guys have satellite phones and internet access, they are high heating, Beryllium treating and glass filling crap Rubies by the bucketful in a hut just out of view. They know more about rubies, markets and nefarious treatments than you’ll ever learn because that’s ALL they know and do. So that $50,000 worth of rubies, paid for in US cash, you think is your passport to riches.
Except once you get back to civilization and a proper lab for an assessment the truth is revealed.
Sure there were top quality rubies found and sold untreated but they went to the pros, it’s the left over crap stuff they need a market for, a buyer for.
And thanks to novice Westerners thinking we are so much cleverer and better educated than this barefoot guy living in a mud hut we get done like dinners!
Every. Single. Time.

 

[vangelis7]

I’m an Aussie like you and I’m in no way denigrating your desire to educate yourself about the diamond industry and your endeavors to make money.
However of all the gemstone markets, the diamond industry is the hardest.
Diamonds are not rare, they have been found for centuries on many continents.
The competition is tough. If the diamonds from the Congo are fantastic, huge, marketable, don’t you think the “pros” in the industry would already know and already have checked them out? There are people who do nothing else but “look” for new opportunities on behalf of the big players.
Miners don’t care who they sell them rough to, they just want it sold. If it was great the “big guys” would have already swooped in taken the pick of the pile. What’s left behind they don’t want because it’s not profitable, it’s not commerical, not worth the effort.
So Mr Miner has a pile of substandard rough that the professionals don’t want.
Hello sucker!
People go to Burma thinking they can snaffle Burmese rubies for a pittance from some naive, uneducated miner. They think traipsing through the jungle for miles and coming across said miner wearing no shoes, living in a mud hut has no idea about the value of Burmese rubies.
OMG you could NOT be more wrong.
These guys have satellite phones and internet access, they are high heating, Beryllium treating and glass filling crap Rubies by the bucketful in a hut just out of view. They know more about rubies, markets and nefarious treatments than you’ll ever learn because that’s ALL they know and do. So that $50,000 worth of rubies, paid for in US cash, you think is your passport to riches.
Except once you get back to civilization and a proper lab for an assessment the truth is revealed.
Sure there were top quality rubies found and sold untreated but they went to the pros, it’s the left over crap stuff they need a market for, a buyer for.
And thanks to novice Westerners thinking we are so much cleverer and better educated than this barefoot guy living in a mud hut we get done like dinners!
Every. Single. Time.

In my limited understanding, the artisanal miners find their product sporadically. Often, it's a matter of who is there to buy. The trader that I know simply cruises to different sites and offers on what i available. Something to be said for being at the right place at the right time. No doubt I have a very limited understanding of the whole process, but my sources tell me that while I don't know everything, there are possibilities for people who want to break in, albeit there will be a steep and expensive learning curve. Any comments on learning to grade and value stones would be much welcome.

 

[Bron357]

The GAA here in Australia offer a 2 year (3 hours a night weekly) Gemology course. It’s about $3,500 a year x 2. Plus you need to buy equipment. They require you to do this course before you can do their diamond grading course. However their diamond course is really all about grading and appraising cut diamonds. While you do learn about rough, you don’t get to “practice” on dozens of rough specimens.
I believe that you would need to go to an actual mining area to get “hands on experience”. It’s something you can only learn over time and by viewing hundreds of raw diamonds. Here in Australia (Argyle excluded) we don’t really have any significant diamond deposits where you could go and I would think you’d need a few years experience to be effective.
Personally, if you’re in NSW or QLD, I’d learn all about sapphires. These you could even go mine for yourself, they are alluvial in the Glenn Innes area or Rubyvale QLD. You can even learn cutting yourself. That mightn’t make you rich but it would be an interesting and worthwhile hobby if you have an interest in gemstones.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Hi Vangelis,

Every time such question comes up on PS, there are dozens of posters warning that the original poster should not do it. And almost every time, the original poster continues to come up with reasoning why this will work.

If you do not wish to listen to our answers, why are you asking the question?

Live long,

 

[Johnbt]

If he eventually does get a license, and knows miners, knows cutters, knows importers, knows retailers and knows how to work the system, etc...why doesn't he just get busy and do it...and keep all of the vast profits for himself? Why share with you? Next thought: He has already invested $12,000 to apply for a mining license and he hasn't lined up any backers? That's just simply backwards.

Instead of throwing $100,000 at a deal suggested by a man who does not yet have a mining license and may never get one... send me $50,000 and you keep $50,000 and we will both come out ahead.

 

[ChristineRose]

If he eventually does get a license, and knows miners, knows cutters, knows importers, knows retailers and knows how to work the system, etc...why doesn't he just get busy and do it...and keep all of the vast profits for himself? Why share with you? Next thought: He has already invested $12,000 to apply for a mining license and he hasn't lined up any backers? That's just simply backwards.

Instead of throwing $100,000 at a deal suggested by a man who does not yet have a mining license and may never get one... send me $50,000 and you keep $50,000 and we will both come out ahead.

I was going to suggest that they learn about stock options, as it would be easier and less risky, but hey, your idea works just as well.

 

[skypie]

I have some great beachfront property in Arizona I'm looking to unload at a bargain price. Just looking for a buyer with say $125,000 or so...

 

[ChristineRose]

T
It's true, the blue stone that I viewed (I have pictures) was considered fancy, and the seller mentioned that these can range from a few thousand per carat to tens of thousands per carat. But to me, this is of no significance as long as my bottom line is met, in other words, if I buy the stone cheaply enough, for me it is enough.

One carat cut and polished fancy blue diamonds are available on e-Bay for $60.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Natural-Lo...737863?hash=item33f51e5507:g:Dd8AAOSwxyJavicS

As Paul says, there are 20,000 ways to value a diamond.

 

[arkieb1]

I'm an Aussie too, my limited understanding is that the big mining companies are partnering with small artesian diamond miners in at attempt to provide better fairer wages to miners. More and more of the smaller miners are selling their stones that way.

If you want to successfully sell diamonds get everything KP certified before it leaves and then decent cutters and GIA or AGL certificates before you sell. Join RapNet and list the stones for sale (surely you know about this if you have done your research) and befriend the diamond dealers here in Australia, there are a few in Sydney and I've met and been to the offices of the main diamond dealer in Brisbane.

Once they know you and what you provide then you should be able to sell them stones. Given the fact that a lot of cutters/diamond dealers in places like India and Asia are all trying to do the same thing, I'm not sure how competitive you can actually be. And even if it is not an African scam of epic proportions, I'd guess as Paul above (who knows far more about the diamond industry than you and your contacts or I do) suggests, it seems like a grand folly to me.

Go back and read your own post, you state, "it seems like another scam situation". YES, it does. Doesn't that tell you something.

 

[partgypsy]

I'm not a diamond expert by any means. But from what I understand, margins on diamond are small. And it is critical to be able to evaluate rough, to know what it could be cut into in what size, quality, etc, in order to know what to purchase the rough for. It takes people years to get to that expertise because very small differences in rough can make a big difference in price. My opinion. They want uneducated people with money to buy rough, because the prime rough has already been purchased and they need fresh suckers. They want you to go, wow that is a 3 carat piece of rough for x, and I can make thousands! When in reality the inclusions make it not cuttable and the prime rough has already been sold. That is why they need fresh blood er money.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Aside from the potential scam, or simply losing tonnes of money because of not knowing the business, there is also a problem with the OP stating that his contact (and potential business-partner) is the assistant of a government official.

In most countries, the diamond-business has to adhere to very specific regulations regarding KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYS (Know Your Supplier) with regards to AML (Anti Money Laundering). Don't you love all these acronyms ? More coming.

Anyway, one of the aspects of these regulations is to make sure whether your counter-party (supplier or customer) is a PPP (Politically Prominent Person). Purchasing from a company co-owned by a PPP may create the risk that one is buying goods, indirectly financed by funds channeled away from government, with the risk being higher in some countries.

For instance, in the unlikely case that we would purchase rough diamonds from the OP, knowing what he stated in the original post, we have the obligation of reporting such transaction to the Belgian AML-authorities as a potential AML-case. Reporting it would shield us from any negative backlash, but the Belgian authorities might well confiscate the outgoing funds.

Live long,

 

[OoohShiny]

TLAs FTW! LOL

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It makes me so sad to see people fall for scams.

 

[doberman]

Just say no.

$250,000 is too much money to invest in something you don't fully understand. I believe they're counting on your lack of knowledge of the diamond trade, as it makes you an easy mark. The fact that this guy works for the government makes me even more suspicious.

 

[Dancing Fire]

OP, I can sell you this for $250K...

https://www.history.com/.image/t_share/MTU3ODc5MDg1ODk3MTY0MTA1/golden-gate-bridge-3.jpg