Smuggled Sudanese Gold Is Laundered Through South Sudan

Khartoum, August 6, 2026 - Sudanese gold continues to be smuggled across land borders into South Sudan, where traders say it is recast, documented as locally mined and exported onward through Juba to international markets. The trade reflects a shift in Sudan's conflict economy.

Gold from Darfur and South Kordofan is moved through unmonitored corridors by truck and motorcycle, then bought in cash with US dollars at prices above the official rate offered by the Central Bank of Sudan. Traders then resmelt and consolidate the metal before securing paperwork that identifies it as South Sudanese production.

The process allows gold to move by air from Juba International Airport to the United Arab Emirates and international refineries with a changed legal origin. Economists describe the practice as origin laundering, a method used to bypass sanctions exposure and obscure links to armed groups.

The trade has direct implications for Sudan's war financing. The Rapid Support Forces have long been linked to gold revenues, particularly after taking control of the Jebel Amer mine in 2017. Gold-producing areas such as Songo and Um Dafuq in South Darfur, now under RSF control, are estimated to yield several tonnes annually and provide revenue for checkpoints, supply lines and logistics.

Darfur is estimated by conflict-economy researchers and UN expert panels to produce between 10 and 20 tonnes of gold a year. For investors and sanctions monitors, the laundering of Sudanese gold through neighboring transit states complicates due diligence across bullion, refining, logistics and banking networks tied to the Gulf.