A murky, multi-million-dollar diamonds deal, steeped in allegations of corruption and reckless haste, has been dramatically blocked by the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), sending shockwaves through Zimbabwe's precious minerals sector.

The tripartite agreement, signed just in August of this year, saw the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) and the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) partner with the Dubai-based firm, Trans-Atlantic Gems (TAGS), for a major diamonds trading operation. The deal, however, collapsed under the weight of serious governance failures, leaving a massive 1.6 million carats of the nation's diamonds hanging in the balance.

Sources close to the negotiations reveal a shocking disregard for standard procedure, placing a heavy shadow over ZCDC's leadership. The contract was reportedly signed without the critical step of conducting due diligence on TAGS, highlighting a monumental failure of oversight by the company's executive team, including its CEO, Douglas Zimbango. Executives pushed the deal through without official board resolutions from either the MMCZ or ZCDC to legitimize the "monumental decision." This egregious lapse in fiduciary responsibility, where the executives neglected standard protocols in their rush for profit, is the core issue that soon exposed the entire arrangement.

The red flags only went up when the first diamond parcel was ready for shipment, as an official at MMCZ, wary of the lack of transparency, insisted on a due diligence assessment.

The findings were nothing short of alarming. A delegation from ZCDC and MMCZ travelled to Dubai, where they learned that TAGS was facing serious financial woes: operating at a loss for two consecutive financial years, with its current liabilities exceeding its current assets, and serious questions surrounding its ability to remit proceeds from diamond sales back to Zimbabwe.

The severity of the situation quickly reached the highest office, leading the OPC to intervene and block the transaction with immediate effect. This intervention was driven by growing concerns about the integrity of the deal and the potential fallout for the nation's diamond resources.

Following the revelations, ZCDC’s CEO, Douglas Zimbango, responded to a cautious letter penned by MMCZ's GM, Moyo. In his correspondence, Zimbango acknowledged the damning findings of the belated due diligence: "We sincerely appreciate the Corporation's thorough risk assessment aimed at safeguarding national mineral interests. We acknowledge the specific risks raised... namely: TAGS has reportedly operated at a loss for the past two consecutive financial years; its current liabilities exceed its current assets; and there are concerns regarding its ability to remit proceeds from diamond sales.”

Zimbango assured the MMCZ that robust safeguards had been built into the Tripartite Tender Facilitation Agreement to "mitigate these risks and protect the diamonds." However, the highly contentious, hand-picking of TAGS to facilitate the sale of 1.6 million carats has created a severe legal and financial predicament. While the President’s Office has succeeded in halting the immediate shipment, the existence of a legally-binding contract means the nation's fight to fully safeguard its diamond wealth from the consequences of a poorly vetted partner is a daunting legal and diplomatic battle.