UAE buys over $100 million in gold looted from Sudan's central bank
The United Arab Emirates purchased more than $100 million in gold bars that were stolen by Sudanese paramilitary forces from the central bank and a state refinery.
According to a recent investigation, the UAE imported gold bullion worth over $100 million that had been taken by armed groups in Sudan from the country's central bank and refinery. An Emirati official said the overall illicit gold trade between the two nations topped $1 billion in 2025. Charity Swissaid estimates that nearly $30 billion of unreported artisanal gold moves from Africa to Dubai each year. The stolen metal is financing Sudan's civil war, enabling militias accused of ethnic cleansing to acquire advanced weaponry supplied by the UAE.
Why it matters
Stolen Sudanese gold is funding a brutal civil war and enabling the UAE to supply advanced weapons to militias.
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