TAKING a firm stand against gold-smuggling, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on Thursday said that gold smugglers will face the necessary legal consequences for their actions and tough measures will be taken in order to tackle this illegal act.

“We at one stage thought that Venezuelan gold was coming into Guyana to bypass the sanctions… Now we’re realising that it’s actually our gold going into Brazil and obviously to bypass the five per cent royalty and the two per cent final tax.”

Noting the ongoing investigations into the matter by the Brazilian federal authorities, Jagdeo stated: “We’re going to take tough measures against people cause we’re going to track those who are benefitting from concessions.”

The PPP General Secretary remarked that all those involved in the smuggling of gold will face the legal consequences.

“We’ll take measures to protect Guyana,” Jagdeo maintained.

According to a report from the Brazilian federal authorities, an investigation into the laundering of more than US$16.4 million in illegally mined gold through fictitious companies in the food and medical supply industries was announced on July 7.

According to the federal authorities, Operation Vanglória is tasked with looking into those who are allegedly transporting gold worth millions that was unlawfully obtained from Guyana, the country’s northern neighbour, through several front firms.

Police opened an investigation after learning of a Guyanese businessman who had connections to the country’s gold-mining sector and who also engaged in questionable commercial practices in Brazil.

Agents of the Federal Police suspect that the man has a Brazilian associate who has assisted him in using sham corporations to transfer assets. One of them is being investigated for allegedly using its records to launder more than R$60 million ($12.3 million) in gold, despite purportedly dealing in medical supplies and operating without a recognised address.
Federal authorities believe that 30 tonnes of gold, worth approximately $1.86 billion, are unlawfully taken out of the Brazilian Amazon each year. The fact that this “dirty gold” is combined with legally mined reservoirs makes it simpler for traffickers to export it.

Authorities have discovered how shell businesses have contributed to this illegal economy, which abuses lowly paid miners in regions with little human and economic growth.

As part of Operation Vanglória, police have already carried out three search and seizure orders in an effort to find the $16 million in illegally traded gold.
They also want to know if the metal was illegally removed from Brazilian native communities or Guyana-based mining sites.