Tel Aviv Court Sentences Diamond Dealer to Six Years for $58.4M Theft

The Tel Aviv District Court sentenced 62-year-old diamond dealer Hanan Abramovitz of Rosh HaAyin to six years in prison on Wednesday for stealing diamonds worth $58.4 million from members of the Israel Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan. Judge Tali Haimovitch also ordered Abramovitz to pay 1.8 million shekels in compensation to the victims.

Abramovitz, a prominent figure at the diamond exchange for decades, operated an office specializing in transactions between traders. According to the court, he received merchandise from fellow dealers to sell to third parties in Hong Kong, promising to transfer the proceeds or return the unsold stones. Instead, he sold the valuable diamonds without remitting the funds, leaving 16 diamond traders empty-handed.

During the trial, victims described devastating financial and personal consequences. One dealer testified that he lost $38 million, forcing him into business collapse and the liquidation of extensive assets to cover debts. Other victims reported severe financial ruin and declining health following the fraud.

Defense attorney Gil Friedman argued that his client experienced a genuine economic collapse rather than planned criminal fraud, noting that Abramovitz was acquitted of several charges. However, Judge Haimovitch emphasized that the defendant severely abused the trust placed in him, inflicting massive financial damage that warranted a substantial prison sentence.