UAE's Gold Imports from Russia Soar 5723%
China and Turkey Each Import Around 20 Tons
"Russian Gold Bars May Be Reprocessed and Enter the West"
After Russia was unable to sell gold to Western countries such as the UK due to the invasion of Ukraine, it has instead turned to other markets like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China. Russia secured new customers by selling gold at low prices to these countries.
On the 25th (local time), major foreign media reported that the UAE imported about 75.7 tons (t) of gold from Russia over approximately one year from February 2022 to early March this year. This represents a staggering 5723% increase compared to 1.3t in 2021, before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Through this, it was estimated that Russia earned about $4.3 billion (approximately 5.7 trillion KRW) from gold exports to the UAE last year.
The countries importing the most Russian gold after the UAE were China and T?rkiye. During the same period, China and T?rkiye each imported 20t of Russian gold. These three countries account for 99.8% of the demand for Russian gold.
After the invasion of Ukraine, Russia, unable to sell gold to Western countries due to stringent economic sanctions, has turned its attention to countries like China. According to media reports, Russia offered about a 1% discount per gold bar when exporting large quantities to the UAE.
The problem is that Russian gold sold to other countries to circumvent sanctions may be reprocessed and re-enter Western markets.
Regarding this, Louis Marshall, a gold expert at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), explained, "Russian gold can be melted down and recast, obscuring its origin, and then redistributed in the US or European markets."
This not only weakens Western economic sanctions against Russia but also poses the risk of Russia securing funds to finance the war.
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