Two suspects of Indian nationality have reportedly been arrested in Tel Aviv on suspicion of attempting to illegally obtain Sarine's confidential intellectual property, says a press release from the company. The release adds that two months ago, Sarine employees reported to company management that they had been approached by a third party offering to buy key intellectual property pertaining to Sarine's diamond manufacturing products. Israeli police detectives arrested the suspects and took them into custody. The suspects were brought before the Magistrate's Court in Tel Aviv and the primary suspect was remanded into custody for 6 days pending further investigation. The suspect's relative was released, as the court accepted at face value his claim that he was not aware of the terms of the proposed deal. A third suspect known to be in Israel remains at large and is being sought by the Tel-Aviv police for questioning.
In response to these events, David Block, CEO of Sarine, stated that "Sarine is fully committed to, and invests millions of dollars in the advancement of the diamond industry. We wish to reiterate that Sarine will aggressively defend its intellectual property in all places and at all times, with all the means that are necessary and appropriate. Unfortunately, this is another example of how far and how low unethical players will go to attain our technology illegally."
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished