Swiss gold refiners accused of sourcing illegal and conflict gold

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Anand Chandrasekhar
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Illegal gold mining in Peru's Madre de Dios province has damaged the environment and had a negative impact on indigenous communities (Keystone) - Click to enlarge

A report by the NGO Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has accused Swiss gold refiner Metalor of procuring gold from controversial suppliers in Peru. Metalor denies the charge.

The reportexternal link, released on Thursday to time with the opening of the Baselworld Watch and Jewellery Fair, says that in all likelihood, Metalor continues to procure illegally mined and sold Peruvian gold, which is linked to tax evasion and environmental destruction.

The refiner’s main supplier, the Peruvian export company Minerales del Sur (Minersur), delivered more than 47 tons of the precious metal to Metalor between 2012 and 2017. STP says that Minersur only has the right to sell gold from the Puno region, but manages four concessions in Huepetuhe, one of the main illegal gold mines located in Madre de Dios.

According to the accusations, the company exports more gold to Switzerland than officially produced in Puno, raising the suspicion that it is palming off illegal gold from Madre de Dios to Metalor.

“We have not been contacted by the NGO. We do not get even a gram of gold from Madre de Dios and all our shipments from Peru are approved by the customs and tax body SUNAT,” Jose Ramon Camino, general counsel for Metalor, told swissinfo.ch.

Dubious Dubai

The STP report also accused Swiss gold refiners of laxness concerning imports from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which it deems to be a hub for conflict gold from African countries. It pointed fingers at the Swiss refiner PAMP, which obtained gold from Dubai-based companies Kaloti and Al Etihad Gold.

According to STP, Kaloti had underreported gold sourced from Sudan and Liberia, and had also procured some from the conflict-ridden Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 2012 and 2014.

The report accused audit firm Ernst & Young Switzerland of conducting an improper third-party verification for PAMP, which could have allowed conflict gold funnelled through UAE to enter the company’s supply chain.

About Anand Chandrasekhar

Anand Chandrasekhar is a professor of biological sciences. Researching with mice and zebrafish, he studies mechanisms involved in the development of the nervous system. He is particularly interested in the development of cranial motor neurons, which are groups of cells controlling the movement of various muscles in the vertebrate head such as the eyes and the jaw. Using cell biology and genetic knockout methods, his lab is currently focused on deciphering the mechanisms regulating the migration of these neurons, and how they organize to establish functional neuronal circuits. These studies will provide insight into the underlying causes of neural tube defects such as spina bifida, and of human neuronal migration disorders, such as lissencephaly, also known as “smooth brain” disorder.

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