Gold mafia: Pattni under pressure-US and UK impose sanctions!

Gold mafia: Pattni under pressure-US and UK impose sanctions!

Harare, Zimbabwe - to international scandal shakes the gold industry! The governments of the United States and Great Britain have targeted the notorious gold smuggler Kamlesh Pattni. The Kenyan-British businessman, who plays a central role in Al Jazeera's explosive documentary "Gold Mafia", is now faced with drastic sanctions. These measures include asset locks, the confiscation of property and travel bans - a hard blow for Pattni!

The investigation of Al Jazeera uncovered a far -reaching network for money laundering and gold smuggling, which extends over several continents. Pattni, who presumably bribed officials in Zimbabwe to benefit from the lucrative gold and diamond markets, is accused of washing dirty money through his global business empire. This extends from Zimbabwe via Dubai to Singapore and London.

a master of deception

The US Finance Authority said that the Pnotatization of fraudulent procedure had stolen the advantages of their natural resources to the citizens of Zimbabwes and gained wealth as well as criminal actors. "When corrupt actors like Pattni take advantage of the weaknesses in the governance structures, the communities and public trust will suffer," says Bradley T. Smith, the incumbent State Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Pattni was notorious in Kenya in the 1990s when he supposedly played a central role in the so-called Goldenberg scandal-a gold smuggling that brought Kenya by $ 600 million, which at the time corresponded to $ 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product. Despite his involvement, Pattni was acquitted after years of processes and has reinvented himself as an evangelical pastor, known as brother Paul.

The machinations in detail

In the documentary "Gold Mafia", Pattni was portrayed as a self -confident businessman who showed his political influence in Africa. He showed the undercover reporters photos with African leaders, including former Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi and former President Zimbabwes, Robert Mugabe. Pattni said that his business in Zimbabwe was based on the political support of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and that an employee paid regular bribes to keep the president on his side.

The undercover reporters were Chinese gangsters who had over $ 100 million dirty money they wanted to clean. Pattni explained how he could use this money to finance his gold purchases in Zimbabwe. He revealed that his companies could serve as a facade for illegal activities and would give criminal operations a appearance of legitimacy. The gold would be flown to Dubai, where it would be imported by companies that also belonged to Pattni.

The investigators of Al Jazeera could not only ask Pattni directly, but also access a wealth of documents from his company and speak to whistleblovers who explained the internal processes of his operations. These revelations throw a bright light on the dark shops that pull through the gold industry in South Africa.

Although Pattni rejects the allegations and emphasizes that he was never convicted in Kenya, the question remains: How long can he get out of the line of the international investigators? The world looks forward to developments in this explosive case!