Britain imposed new sanctions targeting the illicit gold trade on 9 December, as the government stepped up efforts to combat money laundering and Russian sanctions evasion.
The UK Government announced asset freezes on five individuals, including British-Kenyan gold smuggler Kamlesh Pattni, who the British Foreign Office said was using bribery to export gold from southern Africa as a means of laundering dirty money.
According to the updated UK sanctions list, the government added one individual to the sanctions list for deterring Russia, another for Congo, and three as part of the global fight against corruption, Voice of America noted.
“Russia uses the illicit gold trade to launder money and evade sanctions, in doing so bolstering Putin’s war efforts,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:
“Corruption poses a real threat to the UK. It enables the activities of dictators, smugglers and organised criminals around the world, making our streets less safe and our borders less secure.”
Among those sanctioned was Anto Joseph, who Reuters reports had purchased more than $300 million wortrh of Russian gold through Paloma Precious, providing revenue to the Russian government.
The British sanctions announcement coincided with similar action by the United States. The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on dozens of businesses and people it said were involved in a global gold smuggling and money laundering network based in Zimbabwe, Reuters says.
Britain and other major Western economies banned the import of new Russian gold in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to Voice of America, Russia has been using gold to obtain hard currency, weapons, and supplies for its war from countries such as China, Türkiye and Iran, citing a September RAND Corporation report.
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