 |
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently posted a fraud warning on fake Kimberley Process Certificates for Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Guinea. CBP, in conjunction with the Department of State, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, is advising the public on several scams involving Kimberley Process Certificates. Legitimate Kimberley Process Certificates are used to control the international trade in rough diamonds.
In one elaborate scheme, individuals were invited to Sierra Leone to view rough diamonds that were later evaluated as fake stones and were also provided with a fake Kimberley Process certificate numbered Sierra Leone 004199, issued in either April or May 2014. Variations of certificate SL 004199 has been presented to prospective diamond purchasers in the past three weeks. Diamond traders and business community members are also urged to be alert to the circulation of the fake certificate. If you are presented with a fake certificate, please report it to U.S. Customs and Border Protection at mailto:kpmailbox@dhs.govkpmailbox@dhs.gov and to Department of State at mailto:USKimberleyProcess@state.govUSKimberleyProcess@state.gov%20 For more information about the Kimberley Process, please visit: CBP’s Kimberley Diamond page or the Department of State’s Conflict Diamond page.
In the last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has identified false Kimberley Process Certificates from Guinea, Ghana, and Sierra Leone that have been used by criminals in an advance-fee scheme to defraud people of thousands of dollars. The criminals have approached U.S. citizens via the internet urging them to purchase rough diamonds directly from West African sources promising legitimate Kimberley Process Certificates for export.
|
