Every year, tens of billions of dollars worth of gold flow out from the African continent and most of it ends up in the UAE, a new investigative report has shown.
According to the report published by Swissaid, around 405 metric tons of gold ended up in the gulf kingdom, the UAE.
$30 Billion of Gold in 2022
The report highlighted that the continent illegally smuggled around $30 billion worth of gold just in 2022, which sums up to 435 metric tons.
In a decade between 2012-2022, the continent smuggled around $115 billion, weighing 2,569 metric tons, the report said.
Huge Chunk of Gold is Undeclared
Being the biggest producer of gold in the entire world, Africa’s gold market still loams in the shadows of shady players.
The investigative paper reveals that a huge chunk, around 32% to 41% of the gold produced in Ghana, Mali and South Africa is undeclared.