India indicted in world conflict, corruption, human rights abuses
As a result, gold tied to
conflict, human rights abuses and corruption in Africa and South America are entering
legal international markets through India.
In its latest report, A Golden
Web: How India Became One of the World’s Largest Gold Smuggling Hubs
(https://bit.ly/2OQTf2P), IMPACT discloses how India imports approximately
1,000 tons of gold per year, a quarter more than official figures indicate.
Some enter as legal imports
thanks to falsified paperwork.
“Actors across India’s gold
industry are failing to do proper checks on where gold comes from to ensure
they’re not financing conflict and human rights violations," Joanne
Lebert, Executive Director, IMPACT, says. "With its role as a leading
global gold manufacturing centre, India must take action to address the
weaknesses in its gold supply chain.”
IMPACT’s research reveals that
one third of the world’s gold passes through India, the heart of the world’s
gold manufacturing sector. With its gold jewellery exports on the rise, India
has become one of the world’s leading trading hubs—with illicit gold entering,
being transformed into goods and leaving for international markets, including
North America.
“India is at the heart of a web
of the illicit trade of gold, with threads spanning the globe and almost
certainly financing conflict and corruption. Authorities must take action to
remove incentives for gold smuggling and ensure the gold industry implements
due diligence. Anyone buying India’s gold jewellery should also be asking
questions about where the gold comes from to have confidence in their supply
chain,” Lebert added.
IMPACT also calls on actors
across India’s gold industry to implement due diligence on their gold supply
chains. Gold traders, refiners, and jewellers have a responsibility to
understand, mitigate, and publically report on any risks in their supply
chain—all the way back to the mine site.
Download the full report here: http://bit.ly/IndiaGoldenWeb
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