Indian customs are preventing the export of 14 parcels of rough diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange held in Dubai, IDEX Online has learned. The Dubai authorities cleared the goods for onward shipment.

The long saga of these Marange goods is ongoing. Indian dealers bought the parcels in question during a small window of opportunity in November 2010, paying an estimated $160 million for them at a tender. The appointed Kimberley Process (KP) monitor Abbey Chikane has hastily certified the goods in Zimbabwe and they shipped to Dubai.

The UAE custom authorities held the goods at the request of the KP Working Group on Monitoring (WGM). Under pressure of the UAE authorities, the WGM gave a nod of approval in the minutes of a June meeting, but did not issue a statement approving the exports.

The UAE Kimberley Process office has subsequently approved the release and export of the 14 parcels.

As IDEX Online first reported, despite the approval, only some of the goods were exported.

The first few parcels were shipped to India and seized by customs. They are still held at Mumbai because Indian authorities have deemed that there is no clear KP authorization.

Once the first few parcels were stopped, the dealers who had bought the Marange goods decided not to ship the rest. Consequently, most of the goods are still in Dubai.

India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has interceded with the Indian government on behalf of the diamond dealers. The GJEPC has told the government that since these goods were bought with what are legitimately issued KP certificates, it is unfair to penalize individuals for KP’s own lack of a clear policy.

Industry insiders said they were hopeful of a favorable response from the government sometime next week.