Report Shows How Gold Flows Out of Nigeria, Other African Countries Illegally

A staggering amount of gold, worth billions of dollars, is being illicitly smuggled out of Nigeria and other African countries each year, a report by Swissaid, a Swiss aid and development group, has revealed.

According to the report published on Thursday, May 30, over $30 billion worth of gold, totalling more than 435 metric tons, were smuggled from Africa in 2022. The primary destinations for this illicit gold trade were the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, and Switzerland.

The study revealed that between 32% and 41% of gold produced in Africa goes unreported by governments of the African countries involved, exposing either complicity or nonchalance. The underreported exports often involve artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), which surpasses industrial gold production in several African nations, including Nigeria.

Forty-one of the 54 African countries have an estimated ASM gold production of at least 100 kg per year20, and 15 of these countries produce ASM gold but do not report any production officially, part of the report reads.

Of the 38 countries for which at least one estimate of ASM gold production is available, 33 have undeclared ASM gold production, representing more than three-quarters of their total ASM gold production.” According to charts in the report, Nigeria’s declared ASM gold production is also less than its undeclared quantity.

This lack of regulation not only deprives African countries of vital revenue but also fosters a host of social vices, including forced labour, environmental degradation, and armed conflict. It has contributed to instability and exacerbated conflicts in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Burkina Faso, and Nigeria’s Northeastern region.

While most of the smuggled gold was traced directly to the UAE, China is also reportedly a key player in the illegal gold trade, with significant imports from Africa. However, the report suggests that much of the gold purportedly imported by China from Africa originates from South Africa but is shipped from other African countries into South Africa.

The report gives credence to similar reports exposing large-scale illicit gold trade from Africa.  A 2019 report by Reuters analysed gold shipments from 46 African nations to the UAE in 2016. The study revealed that authorities from 25 of these countries failed to report their gold exports to the UAE to the UN Comtrade database. In contrast, UAE authorities reported gold imports from these nations totalling USD 7.4 billion. Additionally, Reuters found discrepancies in reported quantities, noting that 21 African countries reported exporting 67 tonnes less gold (with an estimated trade value of approximately USD 3.9 billion) than what the UAE recorded as imports from these countries.

Similarly, a Bloomberg investigation revealed a significant disparity between gold exported by African countries to the UAE and gold imported by the UAE from Africa in 2021; the disparity amounted to at least USD 4 billion. Bloomberg’s analysis identified at least nine African nations involved in the gold smuggling to UAE. They are Sudan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Mali, Ghana, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, and Niger.

Read; CAPPA Chooses Tax Increase On Tobacco For Child Protection Over Calls For Crackdown On Illicit Trade

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Oluwatobi Odeyinka

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