Exelco NV, which in the past was a leading player in the Belgian diamond market, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware in the US
The company is listed up to $100 million in liabilities, according to court filings.
Among its biggest creditors are Standard Chartered Bank Plc and Belgium’s KBC Group NV, Bloomberg reported. Exelco declined to comment.
Exelco owes $35 million to Standard Chartered and $15 million to KBC, according to a filing in Belgium, while the US filing shows that it has between 50 and 99 creditors in total and between $10 million and $50 million in assets, according to reports.
Standard Chartered announced in 2016 said that it is exiting the diamond-financing business. Meanwhile, the Antwerp Diamond Bank, which is part of the KBC Group, and in the past provided 10 percent of total diamond industry financing, is being wound down.
Diamond mining giant De Beers earlier this year removed Exelco from its list of sightholders. The Belgian trader also used to be a supplier to Signet Jewelers Ltd.
Exelco was founded by Leon and Lior Kunstler, and Jean Paul Tolkowsky, of the renowned Belgian diamond industry family, in 1993.
