Nearly 600 tons of illicit gold flew into the UAE in 2024, including gold smuggled out of Africa and war-torn countries, despite regulations aimed at curbing the illegal trade, according to a report.
The new report, published by SWISSAID on November 12, a Swiss development cooperation organization, identifies the United Arab Emirates as one of the key destinations for gold smuggling.
“The findings of this study are deeply concerning. They show that the United Arab Emirates remains a hub for smuggled and conflict gold,” said Marc Ummel, co-author of the study.
According to the report, a total of 591 tons of gold worth $74 billion were laundered through the UAE in 2024 after being smuggled out of Africa or extracted from war-torn countries.
“The UAE remains by far the main destination for gold linked to armed conflicts in Africa. And it continues to be a major destination for gold exports from countries subject to international sanctions,” the report said.
The UAE introduced Responsible Gold Sourcing Due Diligence Regulations to oversee the gold trade and ensure responsible sourcing. The decision came amid growing international concerns over the country’s failure to do enough to prevent money laundering.
Despite these regulations, Emirati refineries were rated “fully compliant” in only two of 52 reviews conducted between 2023 and 2025. Meanwhile, the amount of smuggled African gold entering the UAE continued to rise, according to the report.
Gold smuggled out of African countries accounted for nearly 453 tons of the total in 2024, worth $56.7 billion, while at least 174.5 tons came from Russia, Yemen and Sudan, all of which are subject to international sanctions.
“In 2024, the UAE imported at least 174.5 tons of gold from Russia (directly and indirectly via Armenia), Yemen, and Sudan (directly and indirectly). The entire volume from these three countries can be considered as conflict gold,” it said.
The UAE was placed on the FATF’s “grey list” in 2022 but was removed in 2024 following the introduction of new gold supply chain regulations. SWISSAID has called on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to place the country back on its “grey list.”
The FATF is an international body that combats money laundering and terrorist financing. It determines whether countries should be placed under increased monitoring on its grey list, while its blacklist recommends countermeasures against countries with the most serious deficiencies.
More than 40 tons of the gold laundered through the UAE in 2024 originated in Sudan, according to SWISSAID’s figures. A network of companies based in the UAE facilitates the transfer of gold mined in Darfur, a Sudanese region controlled by the UAE-backed so-called Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to Dubai.
The UAE has used illicit gold mining to bolster its support for the RSF, which has its own gold trading company. The group has gained considerable wealth by smuggling gold from Sudan to the UAE.
The war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023 following tensions between the UAE-backed RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), has triggered a humanitarian crisis across the country.
In February, the UN reported that the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan found evidence establishing that the RSF committed at least three underlying acts of genocide in and around the city of El Fasher. The mission said the attack on the city in October last year bore the “hallmarks of genocide.”
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