Mandela charity chief cleared over diamonds

A PROMINENT South African businessman to whom supermodel Naomi Campbell testified she gave gems has been found not guilty in a "blood diamonds" case.

Jeremy Ractliffe, former chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, had been charged with violating laws against possessing uncut diamonds. It is illegal in South Africa to possess a rough diamond because of its possible links to funding fighters in African civil wars, money laundering and other crimes.

Ractliffe 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.

"I did what I did for what I felt were totally valid reasons," Ractliffe told reporters outside the courtroom after the verdict was read. "I have always thought I was innocent and it was very nice to have this proven."

Ractliffe was chief executive in 1997 of the Mandela charity when Campbell said she received uncut diamonds after a dinner also attended by Liberia's then president Charles Taylor. Campbell said she gave Ractliffe the diamonds the next morning as a donation to Mandela's charity. Ractliffe said he didn't tell the foundation about the diamonds, and kept the stones in a safe for 13 years until he handed them over to police after Campbell's August 2010 testimony.