The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is embroiled in a bribery scandal. The GIA provides independent ratings of diamonds, but a handful of inspectors were recently cashiered for taking bribes. I expect that the institute will weather this problem because they are addressing it head-on — and their customers are smart enough to insist that they do so.
The GIA disaggregates appraisals of diamonds from the act of selling diamonds, which generates trust; unfortunately, they also are in a near-monopoly position, which means little competition to keep them on their toes. In response to the scandal, they've instituted a new "compliance" position, but I'll be interested to see if they find themselves hiring outside auditors to futher disaggregate authority and rekindle trust.
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