Gold is still one of the most considerably-desired and useful metals in the world since no other metal has been so popular throughout history; every settled culture has used it to symbolize power and accomplishment.
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It is not surprising then, for countries like the UAE, to import this valuable metal even through illegal measures.
The United Nations and Non-Governmental Organizations have long questioned Dubai's clear role in facilitating gold smuggling from African countries, and its reputation as a hub for the gold trade, but the UAE strongly rejects any involvement in such illegal practices, as Bloomberg reports.
Through interviews with government officials across Africa, Bloomberg has found at least nine countries involved in smuggling operations of tons of gold “spirited over borders.”
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), these operations have led to international concerns as the contraband minerals money finance “criminal and terrorist networks, undermine democracy and facilitate money laundering.”
Desperate to recoup lost revenue, African governments are looking to Dubai to help stop the trade as it represents the hub of smuggled gold, Bloomberg reports.
In addition to Sudan; authorities in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Mali, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, and Niger speak out against tons of gold leaks through their borders each year, accusing the UAE, especially Dubai, for being the heart of the illegal operations, according to the same source.
“It’s a huge loss,” Nigerian Mines Minister Olamilekan Adegbite said in an interview in his office in Abuja, the capital, where glass cabinets display rock samples that illustrate the nation’s mining potential, so far largely untapped.
According to the American agency, the majority of Africa’s illegally mined gold is smuggled to Dubai through refineries in countries like Rwanda, or directly in hand bags, according to government and industry officials, UN experts, and civil rights groups.