Activists continue to allege that revenue from Zimbabwe’s diamond sales is being diverted from the Zimbabwean people and is instead lining the pockets of members of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party, an independent London-based news site reports.

According to TheZimbabwean.co.uk, Dewa Mavhinga of the Zimbabwe Crisis Coalition (ZCC) and Centre for Research and Development monitor Farai Maguwu told a conference devoted to the issue of Zimbabwe’s diamonds that they believed Finance Minister Tendai Biti’s reports that some $1 billion in diamond revenue has yet to make its way into the state coffers.

Mavhinga and Maguwu claimed that Zanu-PF was keeping another set of books independent of the Finance Ministry that indicated that the diamond money in question was being used for purposes that did not benefit the local population. Maguwu also presented a report that demonstrated that diamond smuggling was still prevalent at the Marange diamond fields.

The claims were denied by Supa Mandiwanzira of the Affirmative Action Group, an organization The Zimbabwean describes as “pro-Mugabe.”

Mandiwanzira said that all revenues from the sales of Zimbabwe’s rough diamonds were handed over to the government and being used for “noble causes,” including paying government employees.

Mandiwanzira also denied that Zanu-PF was keeping two sets of books and said that any officials found to be pocketing diamond money would face prosecution.