The offices of between eight and ten diamond companies and the courier firms that serve them in the diamond industry centers of India were raided last week by federal income tax officials, Diamond Intelligence reports. Over a hundred investigators descended on Surat and Mumbai one week ago on Thursday afternoon, searching the premises at the Opera House, Panchratna Building and Prasad Chambers at the latter location. Concurrently, word circulated that diamond traders in Kolkata and Jaipur were raided, as well.

The raids came mere days after an opposition candidate running for prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, warned an audience of diamantaires congregated at the Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai to inaugurate the complex that they could be at risk of receiving visits from tax officials.

In July, Indian officials found a treasure trove of cash, gold and polished diamonds in Mumbai worth $1.7 million. Investigators said that the goods were headed towards the state of Gujarat, surmising that it may have been part of a "hawala" transaction, an attempt to transfer funds while circumventing the legal banking channels.