According to a United Nations survey, gold smuggling is costing the Democratic Republic of Congo £1.5 m ($1.9 m) in lost taxes.
Artisanal gold production in the African nation last year was 333.4 kilograms but the country only exported 39.4 kilograms, worth around £1 m, according to figures from the Ministry of Mines.
The enormous gap between production and export represents the “significant smuggled volumes” of gold that end up in Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates and Tanzania, the expert group said.
The UN report released on the website of the Security Council reports that in 2019 at least 1,100 kilograms of gold were exported from the north-eastern province of Ituri alone in Congo. That would have produced £1.5 m in taxes if exported legally.
Some of the profits from hand dug gold in eastern Congo continue to fund militia, the report said.
Illegal gold trading evades the normal banking network and some refineries instead act as brokers, using cash payments, the group said.
The annual report also highlighted Congo ‘s status as one of the “region’s largest artisanal gold producers, and yet one of its smallest official exporters.”
A report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2015 estimated between 10 and 15 tons of artisanal gold was produced in Congo each year. This amount of gold will be worth up to £ 666 m at current prices.
