Royal gift or ‘stolen’ gem? Calls for UK to return 500 carat Great Star of Africa diamond to its rightful owner
Great Star of Africa Diamonds – Image: Getty
A British diamond has come under suspicion of being a stolen diamond for which the thief may have been paid, a report has claimed.
The diamond was reportedly bought in an ‘offshore’ deal with a Nigerian seller who had allegedly been paid by the seller to provide a fake ID.
The country of origin of the diamond has also been revealed as South Africa, where the seller lived.
The diamond, which is roughly the size of two tennis balls, was purchased in the 1970s, when Britain was still in the grip of the “British Empire”.
A new report has claimed the diamond is the largest blue diamond ever discovered and that it is the largest diamond in the world.
The report said it was the largest diamond ever mined in Africa.
The new report claims a British diamond was bought by an “American couple” in an offshore deal, which was paid for by selling the diamond through an unnamed firm called “The Gems Company”, to a Nigerian buyer.
The “American couple”, the report said, were “stealing”, and by the time the transaction was complete, they had reportedly paid the Nigerian seller for the diamond.
The diamond was supposedly bought by an “American couple” in a transaction to Africa
But now the diamond has come back under suspicion, and is being seen as a potential fraud.
The report claims the diamond was bought in an “offshore deal”, as the new report showed the diamond was allegedly bought in South Africa in the 1970s, and that the diamond is the largest ever discovered in Africa.
The diamond reportedly cost £30 million to buy but was worth nearly £50 million when it was sold to the Nigerian, for which the report claims he was paid $40 million.
The report has been presented by the International Gemological Institute, who is calling for the diamond to be returned to its rightful owner.
The IGI also warned there could be “consequences” for those who had “plundered” the diamond, which it said should be returned to the person who had paid for it.
On its website, the IGI said: “The diamond was purchased in an ‘offshore’ deal by the seller for approximately $2,000.00
