The United Arab Emirates I am the main recipient of smuggled gold every year out of African continent, according to a Swissaid report published Thursday. According to Swissaid, between 2012 and 2022 the UAE received over 2,500 tonnes of smuggled gold from Africa, with an estimated value of 115 billion dollars.
Along with Switzerland and India, the UAE is accused of exploiting nearly 80% of Africa’s annual artisanal gold production that is not officially reported. The NGO’s report states that gold smuggled from Africa “generally lands in the United Arab Emirates”, which received 47% of the total gold imported from Africa to non-African countries in 2022.
In 2022 alone, Swissaid said around $31 billion worth of gold was smuggled out of Africa. For decades, the UAE has worked to establish itself as one of the world’s major gold markets by exploiting illegal routes. 2022 statistics show that gold imports into the UAE were worth around $15 billion, a 50% increase in just one year. The illegal transfer of gold is made easier in the UAE thanks to a lenient global system that traces the origin of gold to the country in which it is located when it enters the international market, rather than the country of origin.
UAE exploits international legal loopholes
A UK Home Office report recently labeled the UAE as a country with “deficiencies” that make it “vulnerable” to money laundering networks, which exploit international legal loopholes. Dubai, known as the City of Gold, is a hub for the UAE’s thriving gold import and export markets.
In the 10 years between 2012 and 2022, gold exports from Africa to the UAE increased from 86.3 tonnes to around 204 tonnes. Sudan, Mali and Zimbabwe lead the 38 African countries investigated in the report from which undeclared gold is smuggled.
In 2021, a US State Department report on Zimbabwe found that the country could lose up to one hundred million dollars every month to smuggling networks.
In Sudan, UAE-backed militia leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti, has been revealed as the main beneficiary of gold smuggling into the region, reportedly relying on his connection to Abu Dhabi and the Wagner Group .
Illicit trade and smuggling have dominated Sudan in recent years of civil war, with rival armed factions also participating in the smuggling of medicines and fuel.
by Editorial Staff
