An explosive documentary on gold smuggling in Zimbabwe lends credence to the long-held view in Harare and abroad that powerful forces are profiting from sanctions. Click here for the full story ➡️
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe took umbrage at Al Jazeera’s suggestion that the bank was “Southern Africa’s laundromat” for an alleged African gold mafia involved in illicit gold dealings, corruption and money laundering.
A further roughly 30 tons a year is mined by formal sector mines such as RioZim, which operates the Renco and CAM & Motor gold mines, and Metallon.There have long been suspicions that Zimbabwe’s gold mafia has deep tentacles into SA. “This is unbelievably profitable. As an example, right now there are no shortages in the stores in Zimbabwe, and the banks are sitting on $2.5 billion in deposits.”Effectively, a system of barter or Hawala has evolved, allowing smugglers to swap currencies and gold without any funds leaving the country, and without detection by the banks.
MacMillan and another alleged smuggler, Kamlesh Pattni, claim to buy the gold on behalf of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe – something denied by the bank. The gold is reportedly delivered to a company owned by the RBZ, Fidelity Printers and Refiners. Fidelity’s’ main business is gold refining.Most of the gold leaving Zimbabwe is allegedly purchased from artisanal miners and shipped to Dubai, with the proceeds in US dollars repatriated to Zimbabwe.
Mnangagwa’s niece Henrietta Rushwaya, president of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, is apparently also implicated in the scandal.
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