Diamonds Stolen in Belgium Heist Worth $400 Million, Says Morocco

The Associated Press reported that Belgian authorities are investigating whether the diamonds stolen during a heist that took place at the Brussels airport in February were worth more than the $50 million originally reported. Moroccan investigators have placed their value at $400 million, though the Antwerp World Diamond Center has denied that claim.

As quoted in the market news:

‘The value of the diamonds that were stolen in Zaventem are well and truly $50 million,’ [Antwerp World Diamond Center] spokeswoman Caroline De Wolf told VTM network. ‘Those figures have been confirmed to us the same day by police, transporters, the insurance companies — and they were checked by customs.’

The report emerged after Belgian authorities recently visited counterparts in Morocco, where several threads of the probe have led. If the loss was bigger than reported, that would raise suspicions that much of the cache was being transported illicitly for commercial gain.

Click here to read the full report from The Associated Press.