The bulk of gold imported into Uganda has not been declared for export in the countries of origin, raising red flag of wanton smuggling of the yellow metal in the African continent.
- Some of the gold imported by Uganda originate from countries with no history of gold production, according to a Swissaid report.
- An analysis of these imports and of detailed Ugandan customs statistics for the years 2018 to 2021 shows that the country of origin of gold imported into Uganda has often been incorrectly declared to Ugandan customs.
- In particular, the DRC hardly ever appears as a country of origin in these statistics (imports of just 0.7 tonnes in 2018), even though the existence and scale of gold flows from the DRC to Uganda have been amply documented.
“In addition, consignments of gold have been declared to Ugandan customs as coming from Tanzania by individuals with Congolese (DRC) nationality, which is a red flag. Similarly, consignments of gold have been declared as coming from South Africa or Tanzania by individuals owning companies operating in the DRC. Finally, several tonnes of gold a year have been declared for import into Uganda from countries with virtually no gold production, such as Gambia.” Reads the report.
According to the report, the Ugandan gold refinery African Gold Refinery (AGR) appears numerous times in official statistics on gold imports into Uganda. This refinery and its founder and former director, Alain Goetz, have been placed under sanctions by the American and European authorities because of their involvement in the illegal trade in gold from the DRC. Swissaid report says when contacted for the first time by SWISSAID, AGR responded by explaining how it exercised its due diligence.
When SWISSAID then asked specific questions, in particular about the real origin of the gold linked to certain transactions and certain dubious suppliers, the refinery refused to answer. SWISSAID therefore contacted Alain Goetz. He declined to answer any questions, arguing that he had sold his shares in the company. However, he did say that he was “proud of AGR’s impact on the precious metals industry in the Great Lakes region, especially on the level of transparency that AGR ushered in.”
The report says that Rwanda also appears to be a major transit country. Its gold sector has many similarities with that of Uganda: high quantities of gold are declared for import, but this is rarely reflected in the quantities of gold that are declared for export in the countries of origin.
In particular, the DRC does not appear as a country of origin in official statistics on gold imports into Rwanda, even though it is common knowledge that gold from that country transits through Rwanda.
“South Africa is a special transit country. Some of the gold transiting through this country is declared for export in the countries of origin. However, it is impossible to know whether this gold has been declared in South Africa, as official statistics on gold imports into this country are incomplete. Another part of the gold transiting through South Africa, particularly that from Zimbabwe, is smuggled in,” says the report.
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