More than 7 tons of gold, of possible Venezuelan origin, appear in Uganda

Around 7.4 tons of gold appeared in Uganda, following an investigation initiated by the government of the African nation. So far, it is believed that the precious metal comes from Venezuela, reported Reuters

The inquiries into the bullion focus on recent imports that have arrived at the country's largest gold refinery, AGR, valued at $300 million.

To date, AGR has only acknowledged that the gold came from South America and has denied any accusations that the shipment is smuggled.

"All required documents have been provided [to the police]...AGR transactions are legal and the documentations are 1,000% legitimate," a company spokesperson told Reuters.

However, Fred Enanga, a representative of the Ugandan police, has stated that none of the “shipments” have passed through “official customs entry points”. On March 2, 3.8 tons arrived in the African nation. Two days later, another shipment arrived with 3.6 tons.

That same week, Ugandan government authorities searched the AGR offices, but only found the second shipment. Apparently the first one had disappeared. "We are very interested in being told where the 3.8 tons of gold are," Enanga added.

Ugandan state media have reported that there are high possibilities that the gold comes from Venezuela, especially because the Nicolás Maduro's government has been forced to sell the metal to shore up the declining economy of the Bolivarian nation.

"It could be from Latin America or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the investigations will tell us all that," Enanga explained, on the other hand.

Ángel Alvarado, a deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela, had denounced the extraction, on February 27, of eight tons of gold from the vaults of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV). The parliamentarian also noted that the shipment had appeared “incomplete” in Uganda.

“We remind Uganda that this gold was illegally taken from Venezuela and that the BCV is being usurped,” he wrote on Twitter.

Uganda has evolved, over the years, as a regional hub for gold smuggling and trading, according to news agency reports. While Venezuela has been marketing the precious metal with the aim of providing liquidity in the face of the drop in its oil revenues and the closure of its financing options due to United States sanctions. Both factors have impacted the operations of the state oil company PDVSA.

In February, Maduro sold only three of the 15 tons of gold in his reserves to the investment firm, based in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Noor Capital in exchange for euros in cash.

According to statements issued by Congressman Ángel Alvarado, member of the Finance Commission of the National Assembly, the expected figure could not be commercialized due to the pressure exerted by Donald Trump's administration and the BCV workers themselves.

Maduro has also relied on the crucial help from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to carry out this type of operations, a president who, like him, challenges the White House.

Venezuela sells most of its gold to Turkish refineries and then uses part of the proceeds to buy consumer goods.