Al Jazeera’s eye unit takes their undercover investigation a notch higher, digging up more dirt on the illegal gold operations happening in Africa.
In the second episode of the Gold Mafia, dubbed Smoke and Mirrors, Al Jazeera’s eye unit continues to diffuse the bomb that is money laundering in Africa, covered up in gold trade. There is more than meets the eye when it comes to the flourishing yet illegal gold business. Its success is all thanks to a chain of command, starting from the Zimbabwean President who is at the top of the food chain, closely followed by the principal ambassadors.
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The illegal money laundering scheme is covered up by a façade of potential investors wanting to get into the business of exporting gold to foreign countries. The investigation highlights South Africa as the latest country to be involved in the illegitimate business.
The business remains under the radar because everyone who is involved gets a piece of the cake, hence guaranteeing silence in return.
“As long as you grease the wheels in Africa, there’s no issue…” said Pastor Ricky, one of the associates of the diplomatic mafia in Zimbabwe.
The business is built on bribery and connections in almost all top government offices and institutions, including the airport in Zimbabwe. A gold courier compares the gold smuggling at the airport as a ‘walk in the park’.
Simon Rudland a notorious Zimbabwean citizen was listed to be the sole proprietor of the entire business, funding all its operations. Simon, who is referred to as ‘the Boss’ also benefits from these gold cartels because of his need to launder the dirty money he obtains from his illegal cigarette trade in South Africa under a popular company called ‘Gold Leaf Tobacco’.
The laundered money is disguised in many forms, including loans to companies or advanced payments for imports from foreign companies. What catches the eye is that almost all of these loans and businesses are non-existent, created using fake but rather effective ID documents, stolen identities, invoices, and even bank stamps.
What is unfortunate is that the gold business, which is supposed to be improving the lives of people is benefiting a few kingpins whose thirst for wealth and power is unquenchable.
The investigation sheds light on just how much Africa loses at the expense of a few political elites.
Read also: Gold Mafia; Behind the shadows of Africa’s illegal gold business.
