The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Red Flags Rule, a federal law that requires creditors and financial institutions to implement identity theft prevention programs, became enforceable on December 31, 2010. The rule requires companies that provide branded credit cards or in-house credit accounts for consumers to create a program to detect and prevent the risk of identity theft.
Accounts that present no risk of identity theft — meaning no instant credit is offered — are not required to implement the program.
580 Designated as FTZ
The U.S. Department of Commerce has designated 580 Fifth Avenue, located in the heart of New York City’s Diamond District, as a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), making it the only completed office building in the city to receive this distinction. Kenneth Kahn, the executive manager of 580, explained that the biggest advantage of being in an FTZ is not paying duty on foreign imports. In addition, any goods directly exported from the building are duty free.
Although 580 is an FTZ, each of its tenants must be individually approved for FTZ benefits. Once a tenant is granted FTZ status, that tenant is also able to exhibit and sell its products duty free.
Fraud Case Alleges Secret Diamond Sales
The fraud case involving officials from Core Mining and the Zimbabwe Mining and Development Corporation (ZMDC) continues with new claims of secret sales and missing diamonds. ZMDC, through its subsidiary, Marange Resources, and Core Mining together formed Canadile Resources, allegedly without the required financial backing. Lovemore Kurotwi, the director of Core Mining, and five ZMDC executives were arrested, but granted bail and released. Kurotwi claimed that while the matter was pending before the High Court, almost 1.7 million carats of diamonds were removed from the Canadile vaults, according to Newsday Zimbabwe.
Mugabe’s Wife Sues Over WikiLeaks Claim
The state-owned Herald newspaper reported that Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s wife, Grace, filed a $15 million defamation suit against The Standard for publishing a WikiLeaks cable sent by U.S. ambassador James McGee saying that she benefited from illicit diamond trade in Marange. Referring to her as “the mother of the nation,” her lawyer, George Chikumbirike, said she was wrongly portrayed as “corrupt” in using her position to “access diamonds clandestinely.” The majority of the smuggled diamonds were allegedly sold in Dubai.
Paris AFP also reported that other WikiLeaks cables from Ambassador McGee implicated Ernest Blom, vice president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB). Mr. Blom denied the charges of dealing in Marange rough as “unsubstantiated heresay.”
Court Overturns Ruling Against Lazare Kaplan
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned a ruling that found Lazare Kaplan International (LKI) guilty of “inequitable conduct” in connection with a patent lawsuit the company brought against Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and Photoscribe in 2006. The Court of Appeals also reversed the District Court’s ruling of noninfringement regarding certain LKI claims, which it remanded.
In the original suit, LKI alleged that Photoscribe’s in-scription technology infringed on its own patents. In 2008, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in Photoscribe’s favor and later found LKI guilty of “inequitable conduct” for withholding material during the lawsuit.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - January 2011. To subscribe click here.