K1 BILLION MINERAL SMUGGLING SCANDAL EXPOSES GAPS IN ZAMBIA’S MINING SECTOR
By ZR Reporter
Copper, gold and gemstones worth huge sums have allegedly been leaving Zambia through illegal transactions, with authorities uncovering a smuggling network involving approximately K1 billion.
The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) says the transactions took place between 2022 and 2024, with minerals exported outside established customs procedures and without the required taxes being paid.
The revelations raise questions about how such transactions could have continued for years without being stopped.
Speaking at a gold supply chain workshop in Lusaka, FIC Director General Clement Kapalu disclosed that the syndicate also involved foreign currency allegedly brought into Zambia through illicit mineral dealings.
Beyond the lost government revenue, the FIC is concerned about the growing involvement of criminal networks in the country’s mineral trade, particularly gold.
Zambia’s money laundering risk has now moved from medium to high, according to Kapalu, who also raised concerns about suspected links between illegal gold mining and the financing of extremist groups within the region.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Gold Council have called for tighter controls on mineral trading, including systems that can trace gold from where it is mined to where it is sold.
But the K1 billion revelation leaves a bigger question unanswered: who was behind the transactions, and how did the minerals leave Zambia without the required customs clearance?
Zambia Reports | November 3, 2026