KP Review Mission to India Coincides with News of $160M Marange Purchase

(IDEX Online News) - A scheduled Review Mission to India by the Kimberley Process (KP) is set to get underway next week. The review, which is slated to examine a number of issues, including how well the Indian government monitors the production and trade in rough diamonds, comes at a particularly interesting time.

The world has just learned that some $160 million in rough diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange fields, which have been embargoed until now and the subject of much contentious debate, have just been bought by four Indian diamond dealers. 

The goods have been certified by Abbey Chikane, the KP’s specially designated Monitor for that country, without any consultation with the Working Group on Monitoring (WGM). NGOs like Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) have already called for these goods to be rejected by the international community.