A group is falsely presenting itself to the trade as a representative of the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), and offering products and financial instruments it says the organization endorses, CIBJO has warned.

A businessperson in India who was approached by an organization identifying itself as “CIBJO India” or “CIBJO India-Japan” first alerted the jewelry confederation to the claims late last week, it said Friday. The group claimed to be a gold futures trader that is part of CIBJO, and referred the businessperson to a web page that contained the CIBJO logo and other elements “appropriated from the CIBJO website,” the trade body explained.

CIBJO is currently investigating the individuals misrepresenting themselves as belonging to the organization, and it will make a formal complaint about the fraudulent claims to law enforcement in a number of countries, it stated. The confederation is urging all industry members to practice extreme caution when approached with business offers that seem out of the ordinary, and to do proper diligence before making any financial decisions. Any trade members approached by individuals claiming to be CIBJO representatives can verify their credentials by contacting the CIBJO secretariat.

“It is needless to state that, as a nonprofit representative association, CIBJO does not trade in any commercial products, nor financial instruments such as gold futures, and persons making claims are not authorized to do so and most likely are committing a criminal act,” the organization added.

Courtesy : Rapaport