via Gem deals listed | The Zimbabwean by Staff Reporter
The Central Intelligence Organisation plays a pivotal role in smuggling diamonds out of Marange, according to documents in our possession.
Documents dated May 23 reveal records of the clandestine movement of the gems on a daily basis, as part of what is referred to as the Special Interests Project.
A daily surveillance report that was leaked to The Zimbabwean shows that Angola and China were key players in the smuggling of at least 36,800 carats of diamonds removed from the Marange mining field in a space of less than two months. The diamonds were removed from the fields where Anjin, Marange Resources, Mbada Diamonds and Gename are extracting the gems in partnership with the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, between April 4 and May 16 this year.
The document says the money is given to the Special Interests Office in the CIO. The report details the following movements:
April 4, Veronica Fung left Marange with 3,000 carats flying direct to Angola where she met agent General Kopelipa Dias in Luanda;
April 8, Mr Chen Dhosheng, in the company of Ms S Mpofu left with a parcel of 800 carats of clear stones direct to Angola to meet Mr Sam Pao on behalf of the project.
(Another document refers to Sam Pa – the Chairman of Sino Zim, who has been named as one of the Zanu (PF) sponsors during the 2013 general elections.)
April 14, Mr Dhosheng reported back in office with a token payment of $3m from Mr Pa and $2 million from General Kopelipa Dias. (whose nationality could not be established at the time of going to print.)
April 20, Mr D Kassel and Jiang Zhaoyao left with 1,000 carats in the company of Mr R Mhlanga to Dubai to meet a Nawer Al Baddawi on behalf of the Sheikh. (Robert Mhlanga is the head of Mbada Diamonds. The Sheikh is not identified.)
Kassel reported back on May 27 where he handed over $12 million to the Special Interests Office.
May 4 Sonangol gave a cheque guaranteed by Mr Pa to Special Interests for the supply of stones worth $41 million.
May 10, Ms V Fung, in the company of Air Vice Marshal Henry Muchena, left Marange with a parcel of 12,000 carats to Number 88, Queensway in Hong Kong on behalf of the Special Interests Project.
May 11 – received directive to allow Mr Zhang Shibian, Cheng Qins and D/Director Muzonzini to leave the field with 16,000 carats to Luanda in the company of General Dias.
May 16 General Kopelipa Dias in the company of an unidentified man in Angolan army fatigues left with 4,000 carats of clear stones to Angola with payment guaranteed by China Sonangol and Mr Sam Pa.
COMMENTS
These transaction are, “off the books.” Meaning that they are not a part of the publicly reported exports that Biti was trying to get access to pay civil servants and to use for health and education.
If we assume that the payment of $12M brought back by Mr. Kessel on May 27 was for the 1000 carets that he took out of the country on April 20th, then the diamonds are fetching $12,000 per carat.
Over the period from April 4 to May 16, 36,800 carets left the country and based on the above assumption, $441,600,000 was remitted to Zimbabwe.
Did a single penny of that money ever reach the Treasury? Of course not.
The daily average over the 43 days was $10,269,767.44 earned per day.
That means that ZANU-PF has been clandestinely withholding $3.7 billion annually! Or, $3,748,465,116.28 to be precise.
That will buy a lot of “off the books,” support from SADC for Mugabe’s so called “victory.”
Close enough. Even if the assumptions and mathematics aren’t perfect (as all the facts aren’t publicly available) the point is correctly made. Thank you – a vital point.
Don’t dig into big people’s secrets, many ll be deaf n blind. Leave it
Those countries that bail-out ZANU do not know all this, if they knew or could read simple English, they surely could have stopped the mess. Look, Angola, since when did they speak proper English? Furthermore the guys in ZANU are so greedy that even if there was such monies available to them, they would not save it for any other missions except to enrich themselves. HAND TO MOUTH. Gnu rube inozvikanga nemafuta ayo.