A trustee of a Nelson Mandela charity is cutting ties with the
organization after being caught up in a scandal involving a supermodel,
a warlord and rough diamonds.
The events that led the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund to announce Wednesday that Jeremy Ractliffe, a former chief executive of the fund, was leaving its board had been kept secret for more than a decade. They drew worldwide attention when model Naomi Campbell disclosed receiving what could be blood diamonds and handing them over to Ractliffe during her testimony this month at former Liberian President Charles Taylor's war crimes trial.
Ractliffe said he kept the stones in a safe for 13 years until he handed them over to South African police earlier this month.
In a statement, the Children's Fund said Ractliffe regretted not having informed other officials about receiving the three uncut diamonds earlier, "and acknowledges that had he done so, he and the board could have found a better and lawful way to manage the situation."
It added Ractliffe had apologized "for the anxiety and possible reputational risk his conduct may have caused." The fund said he would not seek re-election in a board vote scheduled later this month and would resign from the board of the fund's U.S. affiliate.
Ractliffe, a respected businessman, has said he kept the stones and did not report them to authorities in a bid to protect the reputations of Mandela, Campbell and the charity, of which he was a founder.
It is illegal in South Africa to possess a rough diamond because of possible links to conflict zones, money-laundering and other crimes.
South African police, who have opened an investigation into whether charges might be filed, said Thursday the investigation was not yet been completed.
Campbell testified three men brought the diamonds to her hotel room after a Children's Fund fundraiser also attended by Taylor, an architect of his country's civil wars. She said she did not know whether the diamonds came from Taylor, though others testified she told them they were his gift.
Campbell said she gave Ractliffe the diamonds as a donation for Mandela's charity.
Prosecutors had called Campbell to help prove Taylor traded in illegal diamonds to arm Sierra Leone rebels.
Source: Donna Bryson, The Associated Press
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