(Rapaport…October 25, 2002) Victor Sibiya has been forced off the S.A. Diamond Board, the regulatory body which licenses and oversees diamond companies doing business in South Africa, the Mail & Guardian of Johannesburg reported today.
Sibiya, who had been the board’s chief executive officer (CEO) was given a payout of nearly $50,000 in exchange for his resignation. He had been suspended since May. The deal precluded any hearings into conflict-of-interest charges members had levied against him.
Sibiya had alleged that some board members were involved in the conflict diamond trade. “You may wish to note that there are several people who have attempted to export diamonds without complying with certain provisions of the law,” he said in a March letter to board Chairperson Abbey Chikane. “There have been cases of outright illegal dealings and the destruction of the pertinent information.”