World’s Largest Gold Exporter, Switzerland Imports Almost All Of It
Switzerland is the world’s largest gold exporter, but it doesn’t mine much of the metal itself, instead, it imports gold from other countries, refines and brands it, and then sells it around the world.
In 2021, Switzerland exported almost $87 billion worth of gold, which is almost as much as the next three biggest exporters (the UAE, the UK, and the US) combined.
This is also true for the UAE and the UK, who are also major gold exporters despite not being among the top gold producers.
Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) has revealed in its four-part investigation, Gold Mafia, that smugglers and money launderers use the gold trade model to launder dirty cash and sell gold from dubious sources. Undercover reporters from the publication infiltrated some of Southern Africa’s largest gold-smuggling and money-laundering gangs. The investigation shows that it is almost impossible to trace the origins of gold purchased by regular customers, making it an invaluable asset for criminals.
Gold has become a preferred commodity for money launderers, and the reporters were offered various options to launder over $100m of dirty cash by multiple smuggling gangs using Zimbabwean gold.
Smugglers transport Zimbabwean gold abroad and bring back the launderers’ unaccounted earnings, supposedly from selling the gold. The launderers receive wired funds from the sale of gold, which appears to be legal. Kamlesh Pattni and Ewan Macmillan, who allegedly run rival gold-smuggling gangs in Zimbabwe, told Al Jazeera that Dubai is their preferred destination for gold. They said the gold is melted and rebranded in Dubai’s refineries before being sold as Dubai gold. Dubai is the UAE’s hub for gold. The gold is exported to London or Switzerland.
The Swiss gold stamp helps to further disguise the origins of the gold. The UAE exports 23 per cent of its gold to Switzerland, where some of the smugglers also have companies. However, due diligence practices in Dubai’s gold industry have been questioned in recent years. Ernst & Young’s Amjad Rihan audited Dubai-based Kaloti, one of the largest gold refineries in the world, and found that some of the gold had come from Darfur, which has witnessed the worst horrors of Sudan’s civil war.
In 2020, UN experts reported that gold from another conflict zone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also ended up in the UAE. In Dubai, the refining process removes traces of its origins, making it more attractive to other gold hubs around the world.
That makes the origins of the gold untraceable and perfect for criminals wanting to hide the source of their wealth. A 2020 report by Global Witness showed that the world’s largest gold refinery, Switzerland’s Valcambi, had previously bought gold from Kaloti that almost certainly originated in Sudan.
