While tax evasion is less prevalent than in the past, sources say it’s still easy to trim your tax bill and there’s no logic to risking full-fledged avoidanceLev Leviev, the Israeli tycoon the police are linking to diamond-smuggling allegations that led to six arrests Monday, is probably the best-known figure in Israel’s diamond industry.But as news of the arrests and investigation surfaced, people in the industry said they were mystified as to what could be behind the alleged smuggling. “It can’t be that the affair is simply about tax evasion – it has to be something far more sophisticated,” one source, who like everyone else requested anonymity, told The MarkerLong a closed and secretive sector, the industry has become somewhat more transparent since 2017 when the Israel Tax Authority forced it to begin reporting on a regular and organized basis.The secretive business environment was made possible because diamonds are small and portable but highly valuable. Deals were closed with a handshake and the words “mazal u-bracha” – “good luck and a blessing.”

It was hard for the authorities to track stones as they moved from rough to polished and around the world between Africa, Russia, Belgium, India, Hong Kong and Israel, where diamonds became a major industry even before the founding of the state.