Africa-Press – Eswatini. King Mswati is allegedly involved in gold smuggling and allegedly established the housing of two(2) gold refinery companies in Matsapha, an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has found.
In a well-investigated and comprehensive report released this week, the international media organization of investigative journalists exposed how citizens were evicted in Matsapha to give way in what was to become a Special Economic Zone(SEZ).
“Ostensibly, the SEZ is home to two gold refineries: Mint of Eswatini Pty. Ltd. and RME Bullion Pty. Ltd.Neither of these refineries existed, however. Mint of Eswatini was a shell through which millions of dollars in suspicious transactions flowed, and RME was suspected of being a link in an illicit gold trading operation.The companies eventually set off alarm bells at the Central Bank of Eswatini and the Swaziland Financial Intelligence Unit, now known as the Eswatini Financial Intelligence Unit, an independent statutory entity within the kingdom that aims to “provide financial intelligence that safeguards the local and international financial system” from money laundering, terrorism financing and other illicit activity.Leaked documents reveal that Eswatini’s authorities were concerned that the gold refining companies were exploiting the SEZ’s loopholes to evade taxes, illegally move money abroad, or potentially move illicit money through the kingdom.Rather than drawing in productive investment and spurring economic growth, the SEZ may have turned the country into a hub for money laundering, the central bank and EFIU feared. The activities of two figures close to the king concerned the EFIU: Swazi jeweler Keenin Schofield, one of King Mswati III’s sons-in-law, who was once found guilty of and fined for diamond smuggling, and Alistair Mathias, a secretive and politically connected Canadian businessman involved in gold trading and construction”, reads the report in part.
It has been reported that, over eight hundred and ninety(890,000) leaked documents from the Eswatini Financial Intelligence Unit(EFIU)were obtained by Distributed Denial of Secrets, a nonprofit organization devoted to publishing and archiving leaks, and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and seven(7) media partners as part of the Swazi Secrets investigation.
The documents according to the investigative report, show that in less than one(1) month, from late November 2018 to mid-December 2018, ten(10)transactions worth about $4.7 million at the time (more than 67 million South African rands) were made from a murky South African “cash-in-transit” company to Schofield, who then sent about the same amount to Mint of Eswatini in the SEZ, from where the money went on to Dubai, United Arab Emirates,Eswatini’s authorities deemed the transactions suspicious.
“The EFIU’s analysis led it to suspect an illicit operation to launder money and smuggle gold through the kingdom-connecting Eswatini to a much larger operation involving gold smuggling and money laundering across southern Africa and stretching to the gold markets of Dubai. This operation was exposed by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit, a partner in Swazi Secrets, in its 2023 Gold Mafia investigation. Al Jazeera’s exposé showed how rival gangs controlled Zimbabwe’s gold trade, smuggling the precious metal across borders and helping Zimbabwe’s regime evade sanctions. These gangs, linked to heads of state and their inner circles, help criminals launder illicit money through international gold transactions”, reads the report in part.
For More News And Analysis About Eswatini Follow Africa-Press
