According to BBC Panorama, employees at a high-end jewelry store were instructed to pretend to be clients in order to deceive investors in the largest diamond fraud in the United Kingdom. Diamond trader Vashi Dominguez used the fraud to secure more funding from investors to support his company, which failed in 2023 with £170 million in debt. When the Vashi retail chain’s claimed £157 million diamond stock was ultimately only worth around £100,000, those investors lost everything.
Both the Serious Fraud Office and the Metropolitan Police have chosen not to look into Mr. Dominguez’s disappearance. To put together how Vashi Dominguez deceived so many people and to find out why authorities are not searching for him, BBC Panorama has interviewed former store employees, investors, and financial specialists who are sifting through the company’s wreckage. Michael Moszynski, an advertising executive and one of the investors, adds, “This is bigger than Hatton Garden, Brink’s-Mat, and the Great Train Robbery combined.”
Vashi Dominguez gained notoriety by selling jewels to wealthy people. As his diamond dealings increased in size, so did his notoriety. While speaking with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on ITV’s This Morning, he held a crystal egg that he said was worth £5 million and was being sold to a Canadian millionaire. “Vashi is an extremely vibrant and captivating character. Will Hayward, a former manager of a Vashi store, describes him as “almost like the Pied Piper of jewelry retail.”
Also Read:
As China’s EV Price Battle Hurts Earnings, BYD Shares Decline
What’s Next After Court Rules Trump’s Tariffs Illegal?
