Finance

Gold refineries suspended in UAE

August 9, 2024, 8:42 AM

Gold smelting in a refinery. The UAE has suspended several refineries after an inspection

32 refineries involved
Anti-money laundering rules breached
Suspension until late October

The UAE has temporarily suspended operations at 32 gold refineries in the country which were found to be in breach of anti-money laundering regulations.

The suspension was backdated to begin on July 24 and runs until October 24, the emirate’s national news agency said.

The refineries make up 5 percent of the gold sector in the UAE.

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The UAE Ministry of Economy said in a statement on August 6 that the discrepancies were uncovered during a number of inspection tours, which were carried out “to ensure the highest levels of compliance with anti-money laundering legislation”, news agency Wam reported.

The ministry said that the refineries had each committed eight violations, “the most prominent of which were not taking the necessary measures and procedures to identify risks, not notifying the Financial Information Unit of a suspicious transaction report when necessary, and not examining customer databases and transactions against names included in the terrorist list”.

The UAE introduced the Due Diligence Regulations Policy for the Responsible Sourcing Process in January this year, aimed at combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism through the gold sector.

In February, the Financial Action Task Force – an intergovernmental organisation established to combat money laundering and terrorist financing – removed the UAE from its so-called grey list, in recognition of the Gulf state’s efforts to curb illicit financial flows.

Gold prices hit a high of $2,483.73 an ounce in mid-July, fuelled by central bank buying, increased demand in China, geopolitical tensions and expectations of US monetary easing.