Inside Antwerp's Jewelry Underworld: Tracking the $102 Million Louvre Heist

Paris:

Following the Louvre heist, Belgian authorities received an alert from French police through the "Pink Diamond" network, a secure Europol channel connecting investigators specializing in high-value thefts, according to two Antwerp police officers.

Antwerp, a historic Belgian port city, has been the global diamond trade epicenter since the 16th century, with wholesalers trading nearly $25 billion in stones last year alone.

Over the past three decades, however, Antwerp has battled a growing underground market, featuring hundreds of gold and jewelry shops predominantly operated by individuals of Georgian descent, according to police, prosecutors, court documents, and municipal records from Belgium and France.

While most establishments operate legally, some provide criminals across Europe with channels to sell stolen valuables - a practice known as "fencing."

French authorities have placed four individuals under formal investigation regarding the Louvre heist but have yet to recover the $102 million worth of stolen jewels.

The Paris prosecutor's office stated that "all hypotheses are being considered" when asked whether Antwerp was a focus of their investigation.

Antwerp police mobilized immediately after receiving the "Pink Diamond" alert, the officers said. "From the moment that happened... especially in Antwerp, with all the jewelry stores, we've been alert," one officer explained.

They reviewed security footage for French license plates and contacted informants for tips about anyone attempting to sell the stolen items. Police also warned jewelers to avoid handling the iconic stolen goods.

Belgium's federal police declined to comment, citing the ongoing French investigation.

Georgian traders began establishing themselves in Antwerp during the 1990s following the Soviet Union's collapse, according to police. Many had backgrounds in metals trading and established connections with the city's Jewish diamond traders.

Currently, approximately 300 jewelry shops operate just outside the diamond district, with police estimating that a quarter engage in "fencing" stolen merchandise.

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre, representing the wholesale trade, told Reuters its reputation "is occasionally put at risk" through association with jewelers practicing "questionable... money laundering" activities.

Antwerp's diamond sector already faces challenges from the G7 ban on Russian gems and competition from lab-grown stones, resulting in historically low prices and calls for industry bailouts.

However, certain jewelers continue to thrive. Some suspected fences drive luxury vehicles, regularly open new shops, and acquire expensive foreign real estate, according to one officer.

"You clearly have two worlds here," they explained. "Those who work hard, are legal... and are struggling to survive, and those who apparently do good business in the same neighborhood selling the same products."

Kris Luyckx, a lawyer who has defended numerous jewelers of Georgian descent, maintained that compliance regulations are robust and that jewelers undergo regular police inspections.

Crime in France has provided reliable income for some Antwerp jewelers, according to French and Belgian law enforcement officials.

After the 2016 robbery of Kim Kardashian in Paris, the mastermind confessed to selling her melted gold and diamonds in Antwerp for over 25,000 euros. Officials believe Georgian fences purchased the items, though no charges were filed as the goods were never recovered.

Since then, numerous French and Belgian investigations have uncovered a criminal corridor between the countries where Balkan burglars transfer stolen goods to couriers in France who deliver them to Antwerp buyers.

In most cases, the buyers were Georgian, the Belgian officers stated.

Yakout Boudali, intelligence head for the French Gendarmerie's Central Office for the Fight Against Itinerant Delinquency, confirmed that in at least two cases, the Antwerp fences were "of Georgian nationality or held dual nationality."

However, she cautioned against "stigmatizing" Georgians or Antwerp, noting that Romania-based groups are increasingly active.

Antwerp's illicit jewelry trade compounds the challenges of a city already combating drug gangs using Europe's second-largest port to import massive cocaine shipments. In a recent anonymous letter posted on Belgium's courts website, an Antwerp judge warned that the country risked becoming a narco-state.

Antwerp established a specialized police unit for the diamond and jewelry sectors in 2021. A mayoral report at that time warned of "a strong link between fraudulent jewelers and the criminal drug environment," suspecting them of "laundering of millions of euros in criminal proceeds."

Antwerp City Hall did not respond to comment requests.

According to police, an unwritten code of silence among Georgian jewelers and Indian diamond traders makes infiltrating these tight-knit communities difficult.

Jewelers also resisted transparency efforts, including then-Mayor Bart De Wever's 2017 initiative "to drive criminal networks out of the city." His municipal decree required jewelry shops to install facial recognition security cameras accessible to police.

Although jewelers appealed the edict, they eventually agreed with one condition - cameras could be installed but would remain inactive, according to police sources.

Luyckx, who represented over 100 jewelers in the case, confirmed an agreement was reached. He argued the law was excessively intrusive and unfairly targeted the largely Jewish community, describing it as "profiling an area as a sort of criminal ghetto."

Antwerp revoked the decree in 2020 after a state auditor determined it risked overreach and violated privacy laws.

According to Antwerp police, selling stolen jewels in the city is typically quick and straightforward. Jewelers inspect gold, gems, or watches, name a price, and pay from undeclared cash reserves. Once purchased, items disappear. In back-room smelters no larger than printers, gold is melted into one-kilo bricks approximately the size of a cellphone.

However, the Louvre treasures may be too recognizable even for Antwerp jewelers to handle, one officer suggested. The jewels were primarily set in silver rather than gold, giving them minimal melt value. Their distinctive oversized sapphires and diamonds would be instantly recognizable, deterring Antwerp's small circle of cutters and polishers. Additionally, the market for the stolen pearls is extremely limited.

"It's not easy money," concluded one of the officers.