By Nkosana Dlamini
ZIMBABWEAN security operatives have been co-opted into daylight plunder of diamonds in Chiadzwa by Asian cartels lavishing cash and expensive gifts for protection, an investigation by NewZimbabwe.com has revealed.
The pillage is fuelling Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), the smuggling of money and assets which are illegal in source, transfer or use.
A 2020 UNCTAD’s Economic Development in Africa Report says annually, an estimated $88.6 billion, equivalent to 3.7% of Africa’s GDP, leaves the continent through IFFs.
Similarly, a 2020 African Development Bank report estimated that Zimbabwe has lost a cumulative $12 billion in the last three decades through IFFs.