Faith Chandianya, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and Current Affairs in Kenya

Kenya and Rwanda have been identified as the hotspots for gold smuggling from neighbouring countries, including South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

According to a global report released by SwissAid, Kenya is a significant gold producer on the African continent.

It is also considered a transit hub for the gold being exported to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"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 ultimately re-exported. In other words, Kenya acts as a transit hub for gold from neighbouring and nearby countries," the report read in part.

The report further stated that what was more alarming was the amount of gold that leaves the country without being declared for export.

"Undeclared production from Kenyan ASM is smuggled out of the country and reaches mainly the United Arab Emirates, possibly also Uganda and Tanzania. The two licensed medium-scale mines responsible for Kenya’s declared gold production ship their material to refiners located in South Africa and Switzerland," the report further read.

SwissAid further estimated that the amount of gold being exported from the country each year is about two tonnes, contrary to the report issued by the Kenyan government in 2023, which reported 672 kilograms of gold exports.

This means that most of the gold in the country is not declared when being exported, but shows up on import data from other countries within the continent.

The report showed that this costs nations within Africa millions in lost revenue, as this illegal form of trade helps criminal networks.

Kenya is not the only East African country involved in this form of trade, as Rwanda was also named.

The Kenya Kwanza government is moving to control the growing gold smuggling in the country by establishing a mining police unit.

Previously, the country's Directorate of Criminal Investigations announced the arrest of 11 suspects linked to a gold scamming syndicate.

According to a statement issued by the DCI on April 30, the detectives acted after the victim reported that he had been swindled approximately KSh 70 million.

This prompted the DCI to track down the suspects who were later found at the Spring Valley Estate.

The detectives carried out a search operation at the premises and were able to recover 305 kilograms of fake gold, a tester and a weighing scale.

Source: TUKO.co.ke