Ramat Gan: Two Israeli companies trading in polished diamonds have ‘collapsed’, according to a report by Israel’s Yediot Aharonot business section ‘Mamon’, and have ceased operations. The one company, Ben David Diamonds, reportedly has debts of between US$40 million and US$70 million, and the other, Mostrov Diamonds, owes round US$24 million, says the news source, with the debts mostly owed to local Israeli diamantaires.

A special meeting of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) management, headed by bourse president Shmuel Schnitzer, was called to discuss the matter, and it was decided to investigate the matter with the assistance of external accountants and lawyers, and, if necessary, also private investigators, reports the news source.

Schnitzer told Mamon that “we are now at the stage of checking the extent of the debt of these two cases.” Schnitzer also commented that the bourse would take legal action against the companies if it was found to be necessary.