Vashi Jewellery Chain Collapses in £170M UK Diamond Scam

Vashi Dominguez, a luxury jewellery entrepreneur known for his high-profile clientele and media appearances, orchestrated a £170 million diamond scam by creating a facade of success to deceive investors and customers. His Vashi stores in London, Birmingham, and Manchester collapsed in 2023, revealing that the promised £157 million stock of diamonds was worth only about £100,000. Employees were instructed to pose as customers and goldsmiths to create an illusion of a bustling, thriving business during surprise investor visits, while sales figures were grossly inflated to secure funding. Investors including billionaire John Caudwell and former Pret boss Clive Schlee were duped by falsified accounts reporting sales of over £100 million, when actual sales were closer to £5 million. Customers were also defrauded, with smaller or lower-quality diamonds sold as premium stones, and original diamond inscriptions removed to conceal the fraud. Despite the scale of the deception and Dominguez disappearing after the collapse, police and the Serious Fraud Office have not launched investigations.