An Inside Job

Global Witness has uncovered new evidence linking Zimbabwe’s state and partisan security forces to a decade of disappearing diamond wealth.

Despite offering early promise and hope, diamonds have failed to benefit the Zimbabwean people. Instead, they have provided secret off-budget funding for state security forces consistently implicated in their oppression. As elections and a divisive presidential succession struggle loom, this has serious implications for Zimbabwe’s democratic future, and casts serious doubt on President Mugabe’s claim that private investors are solely to blame for billions of dollars of missing diamond revenues. 

Mismanagement of the diamond sector has also had devastating consequences for Zimbabwe’s development. With nearly three quarters of the population living beneath the poverty line and an estimated four million people in need of food aid in 2017, the need for a complete overhaul of the industry has never been greater.

‘An Inside Job’ examines five of the major mining companies that have recently operated in the Marange diamond fields and so continue to hold a stake in its future: Kusena, Anjin, Jinan, Diamond Mining Corporation (DMC), and Mbada. It details the steps companies have taken, in some cases, to conceal their finances, shield their operations from public scrutiny, and hide their ultimate beneficiaries and owners. 

Read the full report HERE.

Global Witness has produced a short film featuring members of local communities describing the impacts of Marange diamonds on their lives. Hear their stories here:

Global Witness’s key findings include:

• Secret documents indicating that Zimbabwe’s feared spying agency, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), may hold a stake in a Marange diamond mining company, Kusena Diamonds. The company’s diamonds have been traded in Antwerp and Dubai, circulating freely on international markets, despite the risk they may have funded human rights violations. This risk is set to continue, with the company now reportedly folded into the new government-led Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC).
  
• Significant links between another Marange diamond company, Anjin, which was set up with a private Chinese investor, and Zimbabwe’s highly partisan and oppressive military. Evidence indicates Anjin’s diamonds were sold in Antwerp on at least three occasions, likely in violation of EU sanctions against the military company that holds a significant stake in Anjin. 
  
• Mbada Diamonds held the largest concession in Marange, yet the identity of the owner of a 25 per cent stake in this lucrative asset has remained a closely guarded secret. Global Witness has found mounting evidence to suggest that Robert Mhlanga, a retired member of Zimbabwe’s security forces, ally of the ruling party, and alleged former Presidential pilot, stands behind the hidden share.
  
• Diamond Mining Corporation (DMC) was formed as joint venture by the Government of Zimbabwe with a private investor. This is despite evidence suggesting that the individuals behind the company were involved in extensive smuggling of Marange diamonds for several years before diamonds could be legally exported under the Kimberley Process.

The interactive map below details, for the first time, the ownership of each of the Marange concessions. Click on a concession to learn more about the report's findings. 

The diamond sector in Zimbabwe is currently at a crossroads. After a decade of disappointment, only root and branch reform, supported by a more transparent and responsible international diamond trade, offers hope of avoiding a repeat performance. 

To find out more READ THE FULL REPORT.