Watchdog flags UAE for importing nearly 600 tonnes of dirty gold.
The United Arab Emirates imported "at least" 591 tonnes of illegally sourced conflict and sanctioned gold worth $74 billion in 2024, according to a new report by development agency and investigative watchdog SWISSAID.
The imports, which came a year after Abu Dhabi agreed to new 'due diligence' regulations designed to reduce the amount of illegal gold it receives, included 453 tonnes of African conflict gold and 174.5 tonnes from sanctioned countries (including 36.8 tonnes from civil war-torn Sudan, which was listed in both categories).
SWISSAID has expressed concern about the situation as it concerns the import of Swiss gold from the United Arab Emirates. In 2025, Switzerland purchased 420 tons of earth ingots from the Gulf States, accounting for 36% of Abu Dhabi's total exports that year (19% went to Hong Kong, 13% to India, and 9% to Turkey).
The UAE has been a global center for the import, refining and re-export of illegal and conflict gold since the late 1960s, when it was controlled by Britain and its veritable network of states. Although the region officially gained independence in 1971, some historians and researchers believe that the UAE remains an unofficial patron state of the City of London and Western intelligence.
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