By: OrePulse

The United Arab Emirates imported at least 591 tonnes of illicit gold in 2024, according to a new report by the Swiss advocacy group SWISSAID, despite due-diligence regulations introduced in 2023.

The report, titled “Laundered in the Emirates,” draws on data from 2021 to 2025 and interviews with more than 150 stakeholders to assess the UAE’s role in the global gold market. It defines illicit gold as metal either smuggled into the country without traceability or produced in countries with ongoing conflicts, including Russia, Yemen and Sudan.

SWISSAID said the findings are relevant to the Swiss gold industry because Switzerland is the UAE’s largest gold-importing market. Switzerland imported 420 tonnes of gold from the UAE in 2024 and had already imported more than 400 tonnes from the country in 2026, according to the report.

“The findings of this study are deeply concerning,” said Marc Ummel, head of SWISSAID’s raw materials unit. “They show that the United Arab Emirates remains a hub for smuggled and conflict gold.”

Scale of illicit imports

The 591 tonnes of illicit gold imported by the UAE in 2024 would be worth about $74 billion at current prices, the report said. Of that total, about 453 tonnes were traced to African producing countries and about 137 tonnes came from countries subject to international sanctions. The illicit volume represents 42 percent of the UAE’s total gold imports that year, according to the report.

Refineries not applying new rules, report finds

SWISSAID said the UAE’s business-friendly regulatory environment and relatively light due-diligence requirements helped make it a leading destination for gold refining, but also opened the door to issues involving illicit producers. New due-diligence rules introduced in 2023 were intended to increase traceability and control, but the report concluded that goal has not yet been met.

Of 52 Emirati refineries reviewed for their 2023-to-2025 production, only two had fully adopted the new requirements, the report found. It said refineries generally still have weak traceability systems, receive gold from intermediaries, and do not consistently carry out due diligence and site visits under the new rules.

Recommendations

SWISSAID is calling on the UAE to strengthen enforcement of its existing regulations so refineries can carry out proper due diligence and importers can better trace the gold they buy. It recommended that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) return the UAE to its list of jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in combating money laundering and terrorism financing. The group also called for larger or publicly disclosed penalties for non-compliance, for Emirati companies to disclose the names of their mined-gold suppliers, and for UAE customs authorities to increase their controls.

SWISSAID said conflict-affected gold-producing areas should not be shut out of the supply chain entirely, arguing that doing so would hurt legitimate miners and the wider industry in those regions. With proper due diligence on the UAE’s part, the group said, such areas could continue to be a legitimate source of gold while helping to combat the illicit trade.