Erez Daleyot (; born circa 1956) is a Belgian-Israeli

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

dealer, who may have once controlled one-third of all trade in diamonds worldwide. In April 2022 he was arrested in

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

for suspected tax evasion in South Africa.

Career

Early career to 2015

In September 2004 he was owner and managing director of DD Manufacturing Group of Companies (DDM), and that month he purchased the company Jacob & Co."DD Manufacturing Buys Control of Jacob & Co."
Rapaport, 09-23-2004 In 2005, he reported $886 million in revenue."Diamond Dealers in Deep Trouble as Bank Documents Shine Light on Secret Ways"
ICIJ, 02-09-2015 In 2006, after the arrest of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

-based diamond dealer

Jacob Arabo Jacob Arabo (born Yakov Arabov; June 3, 1965) is an American jeweler and watchmaker who founded Jacob & Company in 1986 and grew it to become an international luxury brand. He began strictly as a jeweler with designs that appealed to celebrities ...

(known as "Jacob the Jeweler") on charges of laundering $270 million in drug money, it was reported that Daleyot was one of his financiers and owned 50% of his jewellery business. ''Haaretz'' reported that Daleyot was operating out of Antwerp and had annual sales topping $200 million according to Israeli estimates. It also wrote that "Daleyot and Belgian Jewish partner Maurice Tempelsman are both known for their integrity, so it is unlikely that they knew of Arabov's alleged illegal activities." In January 2011 he was officially group CEO of DD Manufacturing."Sightholder Allowed to Open Sight"
JCK, 01-19-2011 In 2011, he was accused of participating in a theft scheme with two banks,

KBC Bank KBC Group N.V. is a Belgian universal multi-channel bank-insurer, focusing on private clients and small and medium-sized enterprises in Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. It was created in 1998 through the merger of Kredi ...

and Antwerp Diamond Bank, of $135 million, by diamond dealer Lazare Kaplan. The lawsuit filed in New York did not name him as a direct defendant."Diamond dealer sues two Belgian banks"
Financial Times, 12-23-2011 In 2011, he flew in his private jet to South Africa. Prior to that, he had been a representative of

De Beers The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pi ...

, the world's largest diamond dealer."Diamond dealer who fled to South Africa left debt of €360 million"
Brussels Times, 09-24-2021

2014 to 2023

In 2014, he was "cut off" from De Beers, and his own businesses began to suffer. When a court-appointed administrator appeared in his offices to oversee bankruptcy, then a floor of the Antwerp World Diamond Center, the offices were described as essentially empty. Diamonds and assets were described as missing, with Daleyot leaving a debt of €360 million. By 2021, the bankruptcy matter was to be settled in Antwerp in October 2021. In December 2015, Daleyot was arrested in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

charges, and released on bail. In February 2016, the Antwerp

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

declared his former company, D.D. Manufacturing, bankrupt, owing about $230 million, while Daleyot was allegedly "hiding out in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

". In April 2022 he was arrested in

for evading taxes in South Africa."Flamboyant crook Erez Daleyot, former Antwerp diamond dealer, arrested in Zimbabwe"
DHNET, 04-17-2022

Personal life

In 2011, he had a personal home in

Wilrijk Wilrijk (; former, original spelling: ''Wilrijck'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Wilrijk had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1983; the enlarged municipality of Antwerp wa ...

, regularly visiting South Africa, New York, and Tel Aviv. He had an art collection with works by artists such as

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

and

Jeff Koons Jeffrey Lynn Koons (; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror- finish s ...

. That year, he moved to South Africa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daleyot, Erez Living people Diamond dealers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Belgian businesspeople 21st-century Israeli businesspeople