The London Bullion Market Association , which sets standards for the world’s most established gold market, needs to do more to exclude gold linked to human rights abuses or criminality from its supply chain, rights groups said.
The LBMA, which governs access to the world’s largest bullion market, has, in common with other organisations, established initiatives to try to prevent problematic gold from passing through the LBMA’s refiners and into the vaults of banks. The NGOs said that there had been “some slight improvements” in the LBMA’s systems since 2021, but that “many” refiners on list have, in recent years, sourced gold from suppliers linked to money laundering, land and water pollution, or human rights abuses.The letter cited cases that had been exposed by media or researchers across countries in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East but did not name any of the refiners.
The letter cited the example of the United Arab Emirates being named in a 2023 report as the country of origin of nearly 150 metric tons of gold sold to GDL refiners in 2021. The UAE does not mine any gold but it has established itself as a hub for gold from all over the world.