Kenya is a major hub for smuggled gold to Dubai, SwissAid report says

Kenya is facilitating the transit and resale of illicit gold originating from conflict-affected countries in Africa, according to a new report by SwissAid.

The report, released recently, states that gold smuggled from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and possibly Sudan and Ethiopia, is routinely routed through Kenya before being exported, primarily to Dubai.

“Part of the gold that is smuggled out of South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and, to a lesser extent, Ethiopia, and possibly Sudan, passes through Kenya before being re-exported,” the report states. “Most of the gold that is smuggled out of Kenya is shipped to Dubai and declared for import there.”

SwissAid estimates that illicit gold flows from Kenya exceed two tonnes annually. In contrast, Kenya officially declared only 672 kilograms of gold exports in 2023. The report notes that most of the gold entering Kenya is not declared for export but later appears in import records in destination countries, Kenyans.co.ke reports.

“In other words, one can be confident about the existence of sizeable outbound illicit gold flows because this gold resurfaces further down along the value chain and becomes visible there through official statistics,” the report says.

SwissAid also found inconsistencies between Kenya’s declared gold production and the import records of countries receiving gold from Kenya.

The report indicates that gold imports declared by other countries have consistently exceeded Kenya’s reported production and imports since 2019.

“Undeclared production from Kenyan ASM (artisanal and small-scale mining) is smuggled out of the country and reaches mainly the United Arab Emirates, possibly also Uganda and Tanzania,” the report says.