Undercover reporters pose as gangsters with up to a billion dollars of black money that need to be cleaned.
Episodes
Gold Mafia - The Laundry Service
Undercover reporters pose as gangsters with up to a billion dollars of black money that needs to be cleaned. They gain remarkable access to members of Africa’s Gold Mafia and film closed door meetings with crime bosses.
A senior African ambassador offers to launder $1.2 million using the cover of his diplomatic bag.
Criminals offer lucrative deals to clean over $100 million through government gold export schemes. At the centre of it their operations is southern Africa’s biggest laundromat, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Gold Mafia - Smoke & Mirrors
In episode two, the I-Unit reveals how a South African gold mafia launders money from the sale of illicit cigarettes using Zimbabwean gold.
South Africa’s most notorious money launderer is known as Mo Dollars. He cleans millions of dollars from the sale of illicit cigarettes through gold. Confidential documents expose an intricate web of shelf companies and fake invoices that hide a multi-million-dollar operation in plain sight.
When the Gold Mafia’s money laundering business outgrows its existing infrastructure, it takes over banks and government departments. Ledgers reveal the names of bank, immigration, and customs officers, and a central bank governor - all recipients of the mafia’s generous bribes.
Gold Mafia -
El Dorado
Enter the Gold Mafia’s headquarters in Dubai, destination of the world’s dirty gold. And learn why gold is the perfect vessel to hide and move criminal wealth.
Enter the Gold Mafia’s headquarters in Dubai, preferred destination of the world’s dirty gold. As the rival mafia gangs compete to launder money for the I-Unit’s undercover team, we learn why gold is the perfect vessel to hide and move criminal wealth.
One of Zimbabwe’s top diplomats, Ambassador Uebert Angel, is brokering a meeting between undercover reporters and President Emmerson Mnangagwa. This meeting will secure the deal to launder $1.2 billion of dirty cash through gold and investments in Zimbabwe. But first, the Ambassador needs to be paid.
Gold Mafia - Have The King With You
In the final part, the Gold Mafia shows just how well-connected they actually are.
The net is closing on one of South Africa’s most notorious money launderers. In the final episode, the Gold Mafia boss issues a threat to anyone who breaks the oath of omertà. “What do you think is going to happen?”
“They kill you, don't they?” “Exactly,” he replies.
Other Gold Mafia bosses lure undercover reporters for the business to launder their dirty money with promises of political connections. A senior Zimbabwean diplomat is seeking the approval of the president to use an official plane to carry over a billion dollars of dirty cash from Hong Kong into Zimbabwe.
Two gold mafia bosses tell undercover reporters in Johannesburg, “There’s no president or head of state either of us can’t get to on this continent.” Another advises, “When you work you must always have the king with you. The president”.
Undercover reporters pose as gangsters with up to a billion dollars of black money that needs to be cleaned. They gain remarkable access to members of Africa’s Gold Mafia and film closed door meetings with crime bosses.
A senior African ambassador offers to launder $1.2 million using the cover of his diplomatic bag.
Criminals offer lucrative deals to clean over $100 million through government gold export schemes. At the centre of it their operations is southern Africa’s biggest laundromat, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Articles
Podcasts
Documents
Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit obtained thousands of documents related to money laundering and gold smuggling from Southern Africa. Below are a few documents we are making public. Researchers and journalists can reach out to ajiunit@protonmail.com to request access to more documents.
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