Dubai: Conflict gold, money laundering and illicit global trade

Abstract

This article considers the role that the UAE and, in particular, Dubai has played in the trade in gold between Asia, Europe and Africa. In the 21st century, Dubai has emerged rapidly as one of the focal points in the illicit gold trade and money laundering. Many authors who have focused on African gold production have concentrated almost solely on Dubai as an export market for African gold. However, this approach is flawed because the country has no LBMA accredited refinery and so gold from Dubai must be reprocessed in other countries in order to enter the global value chain, irrespective of its provenance.