Gold smuggling threatens mining sector – VP

-Stricter measures to be put in place on illegal gold trade

Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, said on Monday that the PPP/C Administration is considering tougher oversight measures to curb gold smuggling, an activity that continues to drain state revenues and undermine the livelihoods of small- and medium-scale miners.

Speaking on the “Starting Point” podcast, Dr Jagdeo acknowledged that while authorities have made significant attempts to tackle the problem, the trade has become more complex, with foreign actors, including some from China, now playing a role.

“The problem is that a lot of these are foreign nationals… the problem is when you charge people for smuggling, they get bail… and it’s harder to charge them for money laundering offenses. So, we now have to strengthen the charges that we place on those people,” he explained.

When the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Administration first returned to office, Canadian buyers signalled they were ready to halt gold purchases from Guyana, citing fears of “contaminated” gold entering the system.

At that time, the concern was that Venezuelan gold was being routed through Guyana, re-exported, and used to bypass sanctions on Venezuela.

According to Vice President Jagdeo, the situation has now shifted.

Authorities are hearing reports that gold from Guyana is being smuggled into Brazil. He cautioned that if the country’s gold sector were ever subjected to international sanctions, “all of our gold miners would be put at risk.”

The vice president pointed to instances where a few players, including Azruddin Mohamed, have jeopardised the entire industry.

Such sanctions, or even tighter export conditions, would not only slow trade but also create heavy administrative burdens. The impact, he warned, would fall hardest on the small- and medium-scale miners who extract, sell, and legally export gold.

According to Jagdeo, a coordinated response has since allowed authorities to detect new methods being used by smugglers. This includes the creation of a multi-agency task force and the implementation of closer monitoring of gold declarations.

 The task force, which is comprised of the Attorney-General, the Minister of Finance, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, the Head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Governor of the Central Bank and representatives of the Guyana Gold Board, has already flagged weaknesses in existing regulations, and work is underway to tighten them.