UAE gold imports from Sudan rose by 70 in 2024 despite war, says NGO

The United Arab Emirates increased its gold imports from war-stricken Sudan by 70 percent in 2024, a Swiss NGO said on Tuesday, calling the UAE "a global hub for gold of dubious origin".

The wealthy oil-producing country imported 29 tonnes of gold from Sudan last year, up from 17 tonnes in 2023, as well as significant quantities from neighbouring countries, the NGO Swissaid said.

It cited UAE foreign trade figures published in the United Nations's Comtrade database on October 31. The data has since been removed from the platform, Swissaid said.

The war in Sudan between the army paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, raging since April 2023, has caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, displacing millions and killing tens of thousands of people.

The United Nations has repeatedly accused Abu Dhabi of supplying the RSF with weapons and drones, something the Gulf country has consistently denied.

The UAE also imported 18 tonnes of gold from Chad and nine tonnes from Libya last year -- countries Swissaid called "exit points" for RSF-controlled gold.

"These patterns and flows confirm the UAE's role as a major destination for smuggled Sudanese gold," it added.

The Gulf emirate purchases more African gold than any other country, with 748 tonnes imported from the continent in 2024 -- an 18 percent increase on 2023.

The second-largest importer globally after Switzerland, the UAE also purchased "Russian gold, which contributes to financing the war in Ukraine", to the value of $5.4 billion in 2024, the NGO said.

"Despite their commitments to responsible sourcing, the United Arab Emirates remain a global hub for gold of dubious origin, particularly conflict gold," it said.

In 2023, the country adopted legislation to comply with guidelines from the OECD, an economic grouping of wealthy nations, which prohibit the import of illegal or conflict-related gold.

It was removed from the money-laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force's "grey list" in 2024, and from the European Union's list of "high-risk" countries for money-laundering in June of the same year.