Dirty Gold
Investigating the source of Switzerland's 'dirty' gold
Valcambi, a leading Swiss gold refinery, is known for supplying luxury watch and jewellery brands across the world. Despite claims that Valcambi uses ethically-sourced gold, an RTS investigation confirms Valcambi's business links with Kaloti, a Dubai-based gold refinery known for money laundering and terrorism funding. Is Valcambi's gold not as 'clean' as they claim?
Since 2015, the MTM gold refinery in Dubai, owned by Kaloti, has well-known links to unethical gold: "... an audit showed their involvement in money laundering related to drug trafficking in illegal gold purchases," says Marc Ummel of Swissaid. Kaloti's gold is sourced from the poorest African nations, which commonly use child labour and toxic products. A contract with the Sudanese central bank allows Kaloti to buy gold supplied "from armed groups committing atrocities," Marc continues. Despite claims that Valcambi had cut business ties with Kaloti in 2019, a recovered customs letter shows that "gold ingots were delivered directly from the MTM refinery..." to Valcambi, as recently as 2020.
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