Investigations are currently underway in Guyana following indications that the country’s gold is being smuggled into Brazil, according to local officials.
The Vice President of Guyana, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed the information on Thursday in response to earlier news stories emerging from Brazil.
Unlawful gold sales and money laundering: The alleged Guyanese miner
According to the reports, the Brazilian Federal Police are on the hunt for a Guyanese gold miner allegedly implicated in laundering approximately US$16.9 million from unlawful gold sales via Brazilian shell companies.
“….when we saw an article recently in Brazil, we had not been officially notified before that all of this gold was going into Brazil,” Jagdeo said.
“In fact, we found it strange that our gold would go there, we were thinking that Venezuelan gold was coming here but it doesn’t seem so,” he added.
In the past, questions have surfaced regarding the decreasing local gold declarations. Jagdeo stated that due to these concerns, the government initiated an exploratory probe into potential gold smuggling.
Following the recent report from Brazil, an official investigation has been launched.
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Consequences for those involved: A warning from the Vice President
Jagdeo highlighted that any miner proven to be guilty will face severe consequences, emphasizing that stringent measures are on the horizon.
He also mentioned that a significant number of local medium-scale miners receive concessions from the government.
He further warned If they are a part of the gold smuggling, they will face consequences too, as well, as those who are part of the export of the gold.
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