Anti-Money Laundering Crackdown on Gold Refineries in UAE linked to Individuals in East Africa

The UAE’s Ministry of Economy has suspended the licences of 32 gold refineries in the country for non-compliance with the anti-money laundering legislation (AML). The Crackdown comes after inspections revealed violation of the anti-money laundering law.

A statement issued by the Ministry said that licences of these refineries, which represent 5 per cent of the gold sector in the country, were suspended from July 24, 2024 to October 24, 2024. The Ministry said the decision came after it carried out a series of field inspections on activities related to the trade and manufacturing of precious metals and gemstones to ensure the highest levels of AML compliance in the gold sector. (Source: Khaleej Times)

The crackdown against financial crimes has been intensified as inspections found 256 violations by these refineries. The most prominent of these were not taking necessary measures and procedures to identify risks, not notifying the Financial Information Unit of a suspicious transaction report when necessary, and not examining customer and transaction databases against names included in the terrorism lists.

Amongst the refinery owners and global network of individuals identified are Mustafa Khalid Othman and Caroline Marcus who have been flagged as key pivot players in the Emirates money laundering network.

The duo has been accused of transferring huge amounts of money believed to be proceeds of illegal minerals trade from Saudi Arabia to Dubai, which through shell companies is then transferred to their clients in some of the East African Countries from which the minerals are illegally sourced.

The duo accused of transferring more than USD 75 million from Saudi Arabia to Dubai, and then transferring some of it to one of the East African countries in which investigations are ongoing after it was credited into different accounts. It is believed that they used the cover of simulating legitimate gold purchases from different sellers in the DR Congo and South Africa respectively.

The on-going investigation and suspension of the gold refineries has revealed an extensive network of money laundering between the purported minerals refineries, buyers and seller across the region.

In a statement from the undersecretary of the UAE’s Ministry of Economy,

“The UAE affirms its firm commitment to developing an integrated legislative and regulatory system to combat money laundering and achieve the highest levels of compliance with the policy on due diligence regulations for the responsible gold supply chain, by keeping pace with the best global practices in this regard,” said Abdullah Ahmed Al Saleh, undersecretary of the UAE’s Ministry of Economy.

“The Ministry is making continuous efforts to enhance its supervisory role over the designated non-financial business sectors and professions in the country, represented by the activities of trading and manufacturing precious metals and gemstones, the activities of real estate brokers, establishments operating in the corporate service provider sector, and the activities of auditors, by intensifying inspection campaigns to ensure the highest levels of compliance with the anti-money laundering legislation in force in the country,” said Al Saleh.

Addition Reporting from: (Source: Khaleej Times)