Several directors of one of the largest mining companies operating in Zimbabwe’s controversial Marange diamond fields are drawn from the Zimbabwean military and police
Elements of these highly politicised state institutions have been repeatedly implicated in widespread human rights violations perpetrated against perceived critics of the Zimbabwean government aimed at silencing dissent. There is a risk that off-budget funding of the security sector from diamond revenues could be used to finance violence in any future election.
The report also reveals that a 25% stake in another Marange diamond firm, Mbada, has been given to a company linked with a man widely reported to be President Mugabe’s former personal pilot. The company has an opaque company structure based in tax havens.
The report recommends that the Zimbabwean Government should:
- Pass legislation that bans serving members in Zimbabwe’s security sector from exerting any control over mining companies – including being the beneficial owners of subsidiaries of companies operating in the country’s sector.
- Immediately audit every concession granted so far in Marange and publish details of the beneficial owners of Mbada and Anjin.
Diamonds: A Good Deal for Zimbabwe
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