Report: Mafia Involved in African Diamond Trade

Namibia’s diamond mining industry has fallen victim to the Italian Mafia, the local press reported over the weekend, calling the mob “a major player.”

According to John Grobler, a journalist interviewed by the South African IOL, one of Italy's most powerful organized crime syndicates may be using its connections in Namibia to launder money.

Grobler was in Cape Town to present the findings of his seven year investigation, which won him an award as well as a lawsuit by one of the men named in his articles as having connections to the Italian Mafia.

The mafia was looking for new venues to launder its money after Italian legal authorities cracked down on its income from cigarettes, drugs and prostitution several years ago.

According to Grobler, trading diamonds, and possibly uranium, was one of the ways to “legitimize its cash flow,” using front companies.

The mafia picked Namibia because it had poor enforcement. “[Organized crime groups] exploit enforcement weaknesses in Africa and Africa's poverty,” IOL quoted Grobler. Angola, according to some evidence uncovered by Grobler, is already targeted as the Mafia’s next destination.