Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Jul 14, 2025

Gold exports ‘more attractive than cocaine’ to Colombia’s criminal gangs, research finds

Gold exports ‘more attractive than cocaine’ to Colombia’s criminal gangs, research finds

According to a study by Global Financial Integrity there is a vast difference between the value of gold exports declared by Colombian traders and the equivalent import figures in the US.

Nearly 11 tonnes of Colombian gold exports to the US were misinvoiced between 2010 and 2018, new research suggests, prompting warnings that illicit metals trading is proving even more lucrative than cocaine to South America’s criminal gangs.

According to a study by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a US-based think tank that tracks the illicit movement of goods and funds, there is a vast difference between the value of gold exports declared by Colombian traders and the equivalent import figures in the US.

The accumulated value gap over that eight-year period, both from over and under-invoicing gold trades, is estimated at around US$2.7bn. The value gaps for trade with India and Switzerland are also each over US$1bn.

With Colombia’s mining association estimating that 70% of gold exports derive from illegal activities, GFI reiterates warnings from US State Department officials that illicit gold trading can now provide criminal groups with higher and easier returns than trafficking cocaine.

“There are certain qualities inherent to gold that make it vulnerable to illegal extraction, trafficking and laundering,” GFI says in the report, which was co-authored with Colombia’s Alliance for Responsible Mining and Bogotá-based think tank Cedetrabajo.

“Not only tremendously valuable, it is also portable and largely untraceable. Unlike narcotics, gold is not inherently illegal, and differentiating between legally and illegally sourced gold can be difficult.”

With gold also easier to move across international borders than cash, the report says it is proving an attractive option “for Colombian criminal groups looking to maximise financial gains, shift profits from one jurisdiction to another, and minimise the risks of being caught”.

Not only is illegal or informal mining problematic in terms of contributing to deforestation, but it is also plagued by interference from organised criminals. In 2013 more than half of Colombia’s illegal mining activity was believed to be taking place in areas controlled by neo-paramilitary criminal groups, GFI says.

As well as their role in selling gold extracted illicitly, these groups often extort local artisanal operators and own heavy machinery being used. The report estimates criminal groups earn around US$2.4bn a year from illegal gold mining.

Though most illegally mined gold departs Colombia through smuggling, for example by small aircraft, boat, or carried on the person of an international traveller, the report says official trade channels are used in around a fifth of cases.

This typically involves large exporting firms setting up dozens of fake companies, registered with different chambers of commerce across Colombia, GFI says. It points out that the country’s authorities have levelled charges against several large firms for facilitating fraudulent exports.

For example, in a 2019 case against gold trader CIJ Gutiérrez, the Colombian Attorney General’s Office alleged that as much as US$650mn was laundered through a network of fictitious companies.

Informal mining


In Colombia, gold mining directly accounts for around 2% of GDP and 1.5% of employment nationally. However, its complexity as an industry has made it vulnerable to criminal activity and created barriers to becoming more formalised.

The country’s mining sector is populated by large numbers of smaller, artisanal operations, and so for buyers, it can be difficult to trace whether gold originates from legal or illegal sources.

The Alliance for Responsible Mining explains that there is a distinction between illegal mining, where extraction is not permitted at all by the relevant authorities, and criminal mining, which is used to finance criminal activity directly.

There are also informal producers, it says, which operate within the law but may not meet requirements around sustainability or safety.

Currently, informal miners are often forced to sell gold below market value – with local intermediaries, or compraventas, paying “barely 40% of the international standard” – in environments susceptible to asset laundering.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
×