The report, by a group that uses journalism and whistle blowing to expose corruption around the world, has detailed who is involved in the transport of Zimbabwe’s diamonds, using a mysterious airplane that has previously been reported on. The group, 100Reporters, said that once a month, sometimes more, “a VIP-configured Airbus jetted into Lanseria International Airport, a small and privately-owned base facility near Johannesburg, South Africa.”
“The plane, an Airbus 319CJ, also stopped at Zimbabwe’s Harare airport. It carried important people and was widely believed to ferry some precious—and illicit–cargo: Zimbabwe’s conflict diamonds,” the report states.
The plane, first identified in a report by the British non-profit organisation Global Witness, “has played an integral role in moving the diamonds out of Zimbabwe.” The 100Reporters article goes on to “reveal links between the mysterious jet, Zimbabwe government officials, law firms and investors with holdings across the globe, from the UK to China, Angola to Bermuda to Wall Street.”
“Flight logs for the plane… disclose frequent trips to Singapore, Hong Kong, Tanzania and Angola, among others. The Airbus appears to enjoy a remarkable lack of scrutiny, seemingly flying in a perpetual no-oversight zone. In the South African airport that was the plane’s home base, unless cargo and goods were self-declared, the plane and its passengers were not normally subject to inspection by customs, police or civil aviation authorities,” the article states.
It goes on to name the most frequent passenger on the Airbus, as Xu Jinghua, a Chinese businessman also known as Sam Pa. They said he visited Zimbabwe once a month and was believed to carry out diamonds, according to watchdog groups. Pa has been accused of providing arms and a fleet of Nissan pickup trucks to Zimbabwe’s feared secret police, according to Global Witness and other non-profit organizations that monitor extractive industries.
SW Radio Africa will be unpacking the report in more detail from next week.
There are renewed calls for targeted sanctions to be placed against individuals like Sam Pa to prevent financing more bloodshed in Zimbabwe.
The EU this week partially lifted its targeted measures against Zimbabwe, despite calls for them to strengthen the measures to prevent election violence.
Emily Armistead, a campaigner with Global Witness, said on Friday that ‘sanctions gaps’ could allow the Zimbabwean military to keep receiving ‘off budget funding’ from people like Sam Pa.
“We’d agree that Sam Pa needs to be on the list (of targeted sanctions). He’s given direct funding to the CIO among other issues,” Armistead told SW Radio Africa.
She added: “European diamond companies must carry out checks on their supply chains to make sure their purchases are not fuelling risks of human rights violations in Zimbabwe.” – SW Radio Africa News
Post published in: News
l don’t understand maybe there is need for clarity when you say zim diamonds are blood diamonds, have you ever go to chiadzwa and have your own observations on how this mineral is being mined, maybe you still think of that 2008 era, there is much order as far as the diamond is bieng extracted. maybe the way it is sold maybe corrupt but what l just want to say a citizen of zim is that please stop tarnishing our country, no one is being killed at marange , companies have have been awarded licenses to mine there, if you didn’t get one , tough luck it was not meant for you. we are tired of you trying to act as if you care about zim but hey we know how you are hurt by not being part of the companies that are not mining there.zimbanwe is a peacefull country dont make the world imagine it with the likes of siera lione where there is real blood diamonds.
as you said quote’you don’t understand’! No where in this article does it mention BLOOD DIAMONDS or decry Zimbabwe. It is showing the lack of clarity in their sales. Why the secrecy? when it should be in the eyes of Government to enable FULL benefit to all of Zimbabwe!