UN: DRC Gold Smuggling Booms
Last update: July 2, 2026
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Ever wonder where all that Ugandan gold is *really* coming from? A new UN report says the numbers just aren’t adding up.
So, here’s the tea, according to cbinews.tv. Gold smuggling from the DRC’s Ituri province into Uganda is on the up — and the UN has noticed.
Experts who’ve been looking at the DRC for a sanctions review spotted a pretty big mismatch. Uganda said it exported a whopping 62 tonnes of gold last year, worth about $6.4 billion. Record-breaking stuff. But here’s the catch: Uganda didn’t actually *produce* anywhere near that much gold in 2025.
So, where’s the extra coming from? The UN report points straight at smuggled gold from Ituri, a conflict-hit province in DR Congo. Officially, Ituri only exported just over half a tonne of gold in 2025, even though production there has been surging.
That gap is raising eyebrows because a lot of Ituri’s gold is mined in areas controlled by rebel groups. That kind of gold is under sanctions — it’s linked to illegal mining and fuelling conflict in the region.
And this isn’t just talk. Last week the US slapped sanctions on a Rwandan refinery accused of processing gold that was illegally extracted in eastern DRC.
Attribution: cbinews.tv
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