Africa may be a major producer of gold and trader of the yellow metal across the world. But what is lesser known is the quantum of gold smuggled from the country to various destinations including Europe and the US. It is reported that billions of dollars worth of gold is clandestinely taken from the country through the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East – a gateway to markets both for the legal and illegal transactions. According to Customs data, UAE imported US$15.1 billion worth of gold from Africa in 2016, up from US$1.3 billion in 2006 weighing 446 tonnes, in varying degrees of purity – up from 67 tonnes in 2006. The downside of the story is that much of the gold was not recorded in the exports of African states. At the same time, mining firms in Africa are denying any role in smuggling gold to the Middle East. This has created untold problems for the African countries. Foremost is the denial to the governments of its due taxes. The cash -strapped African states can considerably up their welfare measures if the exchequer is ticking. Many of the countries are facing acute foreign exchange crisis, with the result that they had to considerably cut down the import of essential commodities of the day – to- day living. This has led to spiraling of prices. Also, the side effects are a high level of inflation and unstable local currency. African governments including Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia complain that gold is now being illegally mined and smuggled on a vast scale, most often by criminals at a high human and environmental cost. Importantly, this has added to law and order problem since most of the criminals operate through mafia networks. Also, illegal gold mining has added to corruption. It is common knowledge that these criminals bribe politicians, officers, and agencies involved in ensuring law and order. Several organizations, mostly in the non-governmental space led by social activists, have come up in various African countries to fight against illegal mining, consequent corruption, and environmental degradation. But so far their efforts had only a very insignificant impact on the illegal mining and trade.
