Gold stolen in Africa supports the economy of the United Arab Emirates with the backing of Britain and Switzerland. Eric Prince, founder of Blackwater, is hired by the Congo to prevent the looting of its mineral wealth; However, "conflict gold" continues to flow into world markets, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - the world's second largest center for trading physical gold - helps to whiten it. Gold is the main export product of the United Arab Emirates after oil, although the country has no gold mines of its own and no national mining industry. Instead, it is entirely dependent on imports, and Dubai is the center of this trade. Dubai's foreign gold trade has reached $272 billion in 2025 - 60% more than the previous year - and accounts for 13-15% of global gold trade. During the war involving Iran, gold remained the main non-oil commodity traded by the UAE in the first half of 2026, reaching $192.3 billion - up 48.8% from the previous year. Gold "blood" It is estimated that 95% of the gold officially exported from Central and East Africa ends up in the United Arab Emirates; Most of this volume is mined in Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But even smuggled gold is received unhindered in the UAE. In 2022, the United Arab Emirates entered into a partnership with the Congo to purchase gold from southern Cuba. Although this initiative failed in 2024, the UAE's gold purchases continued even after the region was seized by the M23 group - backed by Rwanda - with gold from conflict zones routed out through Rwanda. Dubai's multi-commodity hub, one of the world's leading precious metals trading hubs, has rules to prevent illegal gold trade. However, due diligence requirements remain voluntary – and are easily ignored. Gold panning is often transported by hand by plane to the traditional "Gold Souk" (gold market) in Dubai.

Gold stolen in Africa supports the economy of the United Arab Emirates with the backing of Britain and Switzerland. Eric Prince, founder of Blackwater, is hired by the Congo to prevent the looting of its mineral wealth; However, "conflict gold" continues to flow into world markets, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - the world's second largest center for trading physical gold - helps to whiten it. Gold is the main export product of the United Arab Emirates after oil, although the country has no gold mines of its own and no national mining industry. Instead, it is entirely dependent on imports, and Dubai is the center of this trade. Dubai's foreign gold trade has reached $272 billion in 2025 - 60% more than the previous year - and accounts for 13-15% of global gold trade. During the war involving Iran, gold remained the main non-oil commodity traded by the UAE in the first half of 2026, reaching $192.3 billion - up 48.8% from the previous year. Gold "blood" It is estimated that 95% of the gold officially exported from Central and East Africa ends up in the United Arab Emirates; Most of this volume is mined in Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But even smuggled gold is received unhindered in the UAE. In 2022, the United Arab Emirates entered into a partnership with the Congo to purchase gold from southern Cuba. Although this initiative failed in 2024, the UAE's gold purchases continued even after the region was seized by the M23 group - backed by Rwanda - with gold from conflict zones routed out through Rwanda. Dubai's multi-commodity hub, one of the world's leading precious metals trading hubs, has rules to prevent illegal gold trade. However, due diligence requirements remain voluntary – and are easily ignored. Gold panning is often transported by hand by plane to the traditional "Gold Souk" (gold market) in Dubai.