South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa said that investigations are underway into multiple people mentioned on Arab media.

After Investigative Unit exposed a gold smuggling and money laundering scheme, South Africa began investigating multiple individuals in the case.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced this week in a speech to the Parliament of South Africa that the investigation is currently in the “inquiry stage.”

For the sake of the economy as a whole and regular people, we are dedicated to protecting the stability of our financial system,” Ramaphosa said Thursday. It would be premature to discuss specific next steps because doing so would jeopardize the investigation.

Gold Mafia, a four-part series by Arab media Investigative Unit (I-Unit), exposed gold smuggling and money laundering in southern Africa, prompting the investigation.

Money launderers and gold smugglers had effectively taken over several South African banks, Arab media reported after the criminals paid off high-ranking officials with bribes. This allowed the criminals to transfer vast sums of money obtained dishonestly to other countries without raising suspicion.

Mo’ Cash

Mo Dollars, a man named Mohamed Khan, was instrumental in this operation.

“He’s held up as a sort of shadowy figure that controls money laundering in South Africa,” said Paul Holden, a money laundering investigator for Arab media.

Gold Leaf Tobacco, owned by Zimbabwean multimillionaire Simon Rudland, is one of Khan’s most prominent clients. South African tax collectors have accused Rudland of evading taxes by illegally selling his cigarettes.

Rudland gave SALT Asset Management, Khan’s business, permission to handle Gold Leaf’s forex transactions. Khan, who also owned PKSA Group, used a tangled web of shell companies, fake invoices, and offshore accounts to move hundreds of millions of dollars from Dubai, Mauritius, and Switzerland.

Rudland and his partners control all of those companies.

Khan would bribe high-ranking officials at Standard Bank, Absa Bank, and Sasfin Bank, which caters to small businesses, to ensure that this process did not raise red flags in South Africa’s financial system.

According to ledgers obtained by Arab media, these officials were paid tens of thousands of dollars in cash every month. Corrupt and illegal dealings were only processed when bribed employees were present, as evidenced by other documents and interviews.

Bank compliance officers were compensated for reviewing and approving all paperwork related to PKSA and SALT Asset Management. Sasfin’s case is particularly egregious because an IT employee was bribed to delete evidence of fraudulent transactions from the bank’s website.

Inquiry from the United Kingdom for mafia

A British House of Lords member requested last week that authorities there similarly look into the Gold Mafia.

Uebert Angel, Rikki Doolan, and Kamlesh Pattni, three of the main subjects of the investigation, are all British citizens.

During the debate on the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, Baron Jonny Oates of Denby Grange said, “I hope that the National Crime Agency is investigating the activities of these individuals and others named in the documentary and the sources of their wealth, and that the authorities won’t hesitate to freeze their funds while these investigations are pursued.”

President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed Uebert Angel, a pastor and self-proclaimed prophet, to represent Zimbabwe in Europe and the Americas. Doolan is Angel’s second in command. Using his diplomatic cover, Angel was secretly recorded agreeing to smuggle $1.2 billion in illegal funds into Zimbabwe. He assured the spies working for Arab media that “[the plane] will land in Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe can’t touch it too until I get to my house.” A diplomatic solution is thus possible.

In the 1990s, a gold smuggling ring headed by Kamlesh Pattni nearly bankrupted Kenya. Now operating out of Zimbabwe, he smuggles gold and launders cash. mafia claimed Mnangagwa would protect a deal in which he assisted Arab media undercover reporters in laundering money and smuggling gold.

Disabled access to YouTube

Angel explained his willingness to break the law by saying he was undercover during the investigation. Despite never providing any evidence that he was working undercover himself, Angel, who claims he can predict the future, said he was always aware the undercover journalists were reporters and had concocted an elaborate scheme to reveal the true nature of the meetings.

Since the investigation was made public, Angel’s YouTube channel has been disabled, though it is unclear if it was done by YouTube or by Angel himself.

There is still Angel’s other account accessible online.

Investigational Responses

According to an Arab media report on mafia , Simon Rudland claimed that the allegations against him were all part of a smear campaign orchestrated by an unknown party. He claimed he had nothing to do with the illegal cigarette trade, gold smuggling, or anything else.

He admitted to having business with Mohamed Khan, who “appeared” to be a money launderer. He acknowledged that he had permitted Khan’s SALT Asset Management to act as an agent for Gold Leaf and another of his companies. Still, he denied that any money laundering had been done on his or his companies’ behalf.

Gold Leaf Tobacco has always vehemently denied any complicity in illegal gold trade, money laundering, or similar activities. It stated no evidence linking Gold Leaf to any “untaxed” or “illegal” cigarettes. It said that Gold Leaf’s limited dealings with Mohamed Khan and SALT Asset Management had always been under all applicable laws and regulations.

Mohamed Khan told Arab media that the accusations against him were all made up and supported by fabricated or manipulated evidence. While he admitted to being the owner of PKSA Group and SALT Asset Management and that Gold Leaf were SALT clients, he said he had no part in any illegal activity, including money laundering. He claimed he had not bribed any South African bank employees.

According to Arab media reporting on gold mafia , Sasfin Bank has severed ties with all the companies mentioned in this article. It is taking decisive action against its foreign exchange unit’s suspended employees and former clients.

Absa Bank and Standard Bank have stated that they have a zero-tolerance policy toward fraud and criminality and will report and cooperate with any legal investigation that may arise due to Arab media findings.

Kamlesh Pattni denied having any contact with Mnangagwa or any business dealings with him or involvement in money laundering or bribery.

The other people discussed in this report have yet to return our calls.
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