Zimbabwe’s Ambassador-at-Large to the Americas and Europe Uebert Angel can breathe a sigh of relief after being exonerated of all gold smuggling and money laundering allegations levelled against him.
On Monday, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Financial Intelligence Unit announced that his accounts, along with those of other individuals embroiled in the notorious Gold Mafia Documentary by Al Jazeera, have been unfrozen.
This recent turn of events serves as a vindication for the diplomat, who has repeatedly maintained his innocence since the documentary was released.
The Financial Intelligence Unit has conducted an extensive investigation and has concluded that Angel and the other individuals mentioned in the documentary were not involved in any financial crimes, putting to rest any lingering doubts about their innocence.
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Below is the full statement released by the Finacial Intelligence Unit:
Following the broadcast of Al Jazeera’s documentary series titled “The Gold Mafia” the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) issued a directive on 31 March 2023 directing financial institutions to identify, freeze and report bank accounts and other financial assets owned and/or controlled by individuals who were alleged to have played key roles in alleged acts of money laundering and other financial crimes.
The FIU exercised its temporary freezing powers to ensure that any illicit proceeds connected to the allegations in the documentary would not be dissipated or disposed of by the persons concerned and prejudice potential future investigations.
The FIU, working in close collaboration with law enforcement agencies, has since concluded its analysis of the four episodes of the Al Jazeera documentary and has also analyzed the financial assets and transactions of the persons implicated in the documentary and has determined that there is no good cause for the freezing order to remain in place. The FIU has not identified transactions/assets linked to money laundering and related financial crime connected to the allegations in the Al Jazeera documentary.
In view of the above, the FIU has directed financial institutions to unfreeze all the accounts and other financial assets that had been frozen pursuant to the directive of 31 March 2023. The unfreezing action is without prejudice to any further investigations that law enforcement agencies may wish to commence or continue against any of the persons involved.
Some of the allegations in the documentary relate to money laundering and financial crimes alleged to have taken place outside Zimbabwe’s borders. The FIU, if so requested, stands ready and is indeed mandated to cooperate with any international investigations against any of the persons or entities mentioned in the documentary.
