US Sanctions over Zimbabwe Gold Fraud
December 16, 24
(IDEX Online) - The US has sanctioned 28 individuals and businesses involved in a global gold smuggling and money laundering network based in Zimbabwe.
Among them is Kamlesh Pattni, a businessman from Kenya, who was implicated in a $600m gold trading scandal there in the 1990s. Pattni's wife and brother-in-law have also been sanctioned.
Pattni went on to befriend Zimbabwe's then-President Robert Mugabe and, according to OFAC, to re-establish a scheme similar to the one he ran in Kenya.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the fraud in Zimbabwe perpetrated by Pattni and others had has robbed citizens of the benefit of those natural resources while enriching corrupt government officials and criminal actors.
"Across the globe, when corrupt actors like Pattni choose to exploit openings in governance structures to benefit themselves and their cronies, communities suffer and public trust is undermined," said Bradley T. Smith, acting under secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.
OFAC said the global network led by Pattni had bribed officials, deploying trusted supporters to mask ownership, and had woven a global web of businesses to hide illicit activities.
Pattni has also been sanctioned by the UK. The US sanctions mean all property and interests in property of these targets that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC.