The trial of former head of Nelson Mandela's children's charity, Jeremy Ratcliffe, has been postponed until March 30, news outlets report.

Ratcliffe is accused of having received rough diamonds from supermodel Naomi Campbell in 1997 in violation of South African law, which forbids individuals to be in possession of rough stones.

Campbell, who was attending a gala dinner in honor of Mandela, reportedly received the diamonds, which she described as "dirty-looking pebbles," from representatives of former Liberian president Charles Taylor, now under trial in The Hague for war crimes committed during his regime.

The model has maintained that at the time, she had never heard of Taylor or of conflict diamonds – diamonds traded illegally whose profits go to fund civil wars in the producing countries. Campbell showed the diamonds to Ratcliffe, suggesting that they could go to the charity fund.

Ratcliffe declined to involve the fund in any activity that could be illegal, and says that in the end, he "decided to just keep them."

South African authorities have said that Ratcliffe's trial is unrelated to the charges pending against Taylor in the Special Court for Sierra Leone.