Can the illicit gold trade be stopped?

Gold has been prized throughout history for its value and its beauty, which has also made it attractive to those prepared to exploit this precious metal for their own ends. The European Union recently banned the purchase, import and transfer of gold from Sudan, one of Africa’s largest gold producers, saying it had become a key source of financing for the country’s civil war.

And in other parts of the world where there are gold reserves, there can be similar exploitation. Many artisanal and small-scale miners are vulnerable to organised crime syndicates who find the risks of gold mining lower compared to those of drug trafficking.

And illicit gold is much easier to launder into the legal market, because it can be melted down with legitimate sources of gold and smuggled across borders, making its origins much harder to trace.

But the challenge for governments trying to enforce the law is how to protect those at the bottom of the chain and provide them with sustainable alternatives to illicit gold mining, whilst clamping down on the criminal groups behind the operation. So, can the illicit gold trade be stopped?’

This week, our panel includes Campbell Harvey, professor of finance, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA; Dr Dan Watson, research associate, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, UK; Bram Ebus, consultant with International Crisis Group, founder and co-director Amazon Underworld, Bogotá, Colombia and Louis Maréchal, senior adviser on minerals and extractives, OECD, Paris, France.

(Photo: Gold nugget and gold coins. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Amelia Cox Technical producer: Cameron Ward Production co-ordinator: Phoebe Lomas Production management assistant: Liam Morrey Editor: Tom Bigwood