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Rising demand for gold fuels crime, corruption in Africa and Latin America – UN report
A new report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has linked rising crime, corruption, and instability in Africa and Latin America to increasing demand for gold and other mineral resources.
The report, titled “Minerals Crime: Illegal Gold Mining Part Two of the Global Analysis on Crimes that Affect the Environment,” examined the motivations driving diverse actors to engage in minerals crime.
The report highlighted the use of fraud, corruption, and money laundering to enable crimes and bring illegally-sourced metals and minerals into licit global markets.
“All types of actors involved in illegal mining and trafficking use fraud, corruption and money laundering to enable their crimes and bring illegally-sourced metals and minerals into licit global markets,” the report states.
The report emphasised the need for better data, globally harmonised legislation, and targeted law enforcement responses to ensure the security of supply chains of critical minerals.
“We need better data to quickly spot and respond to the criminal exploitation of the mining sector, together with more globally harmonized legislation and standards,” said Angela Me, Chief of Research and Analysis at UNODC.
