Lev Leviev dubbed the “King of Diamonds,” is a well-known diamantaire who, according to his official LLD Diamonds bio, was able to undercut the De Beers diamond cartel and win his own arrangements with diamond-producing countries such as Russia and Angola.
He was born in Uzbekistan and migrated to Israel with his family in the 1970s, where he worked as an apprentice at a diamond polishing factory.
He now owns and operates a number of diamond jewelry stores around the world, as well as working in real estate. He is the majority stakeholder of Africa Israel Investments, an Israeli real estate, and construction firm.
Shimon Hayut legally changed his name to Simon Leviev and departed Israel in 2011 to avoid facing charges for fraud-related crimes committed when he was in his early twenties.
Simon Leviev then went to Finland to serve a two-year sentence for scamming three women.
Simon Leviev continues to travel around Europe, committing fraud offenses, following his release in 2017 and a brief return to Israel. He claimed to be the son of diamond billionaire Lev Leviev and referred to himself as the “Prince of Diamonds” and the heir to LLD Diamonds to a number of ladies.
When they met in 2017, he even informed Cecilie Fjellhoy that he was the company’s current CEO. Leviev’s claims were difficult to dismiss, as seen by a photo of Simon Leviev allegedly standing next to the genuine Lev Leviev and his family, as seen in The Tinder Swindler.
Shimon Hayut had no business dealings with Lev Leviev or LLD Diamonds.
