Lazare Battle New York City sightholder Lazare Kaplan on Dec. 23 launched a long-threatened lawsuit against Antwerp Diamond Bank in United States district court, Southern District of New York. The suit stems from a $135 million joint Angolan diamond deal the company undertook with another sightholder, Antwerp-based Israeli dealer Erez Dale­yot, owner of D.D. Manufacturing. D.D. owns an interest in Jacob & Co., the brand begun by Jacob the Jeweler. The complaint alleges that when the value of diamonds plummeted after the 2008 financial crisis, a possible Daleyot default threatened Antwerp Diamond Bank’s survival. As a result, ADB, which was also LKI’s banker, allegedly worked with Daleyot to steal the goods in question, using a series of financial transactions that involved moving funds from one shell company to another. The 136-page lawsuit also includes charges of bribes