"Retired" Mossad agent appears in London court in African diamond battle between Israeli-Russian tycoons
A "retired" Mossad agent appeared before a London court today [29 May 2012] in the midst of a battle between two Israeli-Russian tycoons over African diamond profits. - Avinoam Dagan, who would only reveal his position in the [in]famous Israeli intelligence service was “high ranking”, was giving evidence on behalf Arkady Gaydamak. Mr Gaydamak, 60, who recently won an appeal against an arms dealing conviction in the French courts, is claiming that fellow businessman Lev Leviev owes him in the region of $1 billion after the two men went into a venture to sell Angolan diamonds. The deal had been agreed by the country's government in the nineties as it tried to wrest control of the gems from UNITA rebels during the bloody civil war. The case centres around an document Mr Gaydamak insists they signed in December 2001, in which he agreed that Mr Leviev would hold his equal share from the Angolan Diamond Selling Corporation while he maintained a low profile because of the “politically motivated” French charges.