India Emerges as One of World’s Largest Gold Smuggling Hubs

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest report published by IMPACT notes that India has emerged as one of the largest gold smuggling hubs in the world. Lack of necessary regulation and no proper checks have led to unimpeded flow of illegally sourced gold, including conflict gold from Africa and South America, into the country.

According to Joanne Lebert, executive director, IMPACT, the Indian authorities have failed to implement proper mechanisms to identify the source of gold, in order to ensure that it does not finance conflicts and human rights violations. Nearly one third of the gold passes through the country, he said. The report identifies three key factors of smuggling: tax breaks, falsified origin documents and complicit allies.

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The main source of refined gold smuggled into the country is the UAE. Meanwhile, traders and refiners in Africa’s Great lakes region are also part of the vicious gold smuggling syndicate.

The non-government organization recommends the Indian authorities to harmonize taxes and implement stricter regulatory controls to check flow of smuggled gold. It also highlights the need for collection of additional valid information for all imports. The authorities must take immediate action to remove incentives for gold smuggling and establish due diligence on its gold supply chains

India imports nearly 1,000 tonnes of gold every year, out of which around one-fourth enter the country through unofficial channels.