Zim gold smugglers shipping over US$1,5bn a year

GOLD worth over US$1,5 billion is smuggled out of Zimbabwe every year, depriving the cash-strapped economy of crucial foreign-exchange revenues, according to research organisation International Crisis Group.

The gold is illegally shipped from the southern African nation’s small-scale mines, often to the bullion-trading hub of Dubai, ICG said in a report Tuesday.
Some of those artisanal mines were overwhelmed by violent gangs that have political connections, it said.

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