demanded justice for decades

Pattni’s arch-rival in Zimbabwe’s gold-smuggling industry, Macmillan is loud and loquacious. He was first jailed for gold smuggling in the early 1990s, when he was just 21 years old. By his own account, he has been to prison on several occasions since then.Now, he partners with the same Zimbabwean state machinery that once used to arrest him. Also known as Mr Gold, Macmillan is among a set of smugglers — including Pattni — who each work with Zimbabwe’s state-run refinery, Fidelity. He is also an acquaintance of Simon Rudland, a Zimbabwean millionaire who has been accused by South African authorities of money laundering.

These smugglers have deals with Fidelity to deliver a quota of gold bought from small-scale miners to the refinery. They then export it to Dubai and provide hard currency for the Zimbabwean government. But like Pattni and Angel, this mechanism allows smugglers like Macmillan to also launder millions of dollars.“There is an opportunity, a hell of a big opportunity to wash money here,” he told our reporters. “I can give my partner gold in Dubai and he can just pay you anywhere in the world.”Macmillan did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for a formal comment about the investigation. Rudland said that all allegations against him were false and formed part of a smear campaign by an unidentified third party.

Fidelity Printers and Refiners denied all wrongdoing.The brains of Macmillan’s operation, Mathias is the “partner” the Zimbabwean smuggler referred to. A Canadian national, Mathias allegedly launders money for people all over the world, from Russians to African politicians. Mathias, who is based in Dubai, uses a web of companies and refineries to make sure money “gets moved around”, as he describes it.

“You’ve sold it to a refinery and the money got paid in the bank account. So, it’s very clean that way,” he told Al Jazeera’s undercover reporters.

According to Mathias, he “moves” gold valued at between $70mn and $80mn around every month. Apart from Zimbabwe, he listed Ghana, South Africa and Zambia among the countries that Macmillan and he can “export” gold from. Macmillan told Al Jazeera reporters that Mathias also works with “the Russians”.“You’ve sold it to a refinery and the money got paid in the bank account. So, it’s very clean that way,” he told Al Jazeera’s undercover reporters.

According to Mathias, he “moves” gold valued at between $70mn and $80mn around every month. Apart from Zimbabwe, he listed Ghana, South Africa and Zambia among the countries that Macmillan and he can “export” gold from. Macmillan told Al Jazeera reporters that Mathias also works with “the Russians”.Mathias, initially uncomfortable about Macmillan’s boastful attitude in front of our reporters, then explained what they needed to do in order for him to help launder their cash — set up a company in Dubai that they could claim was involved in the gold trade.

When asked for a formal comment about the findings of Al Jazeera’s investigation, Mathias denied that he designed mechanisms to launder money and said that he had not laundered money or traded illegal gold for Russian clients or anyone else. He told us he had never had any working relationship with Macmillan.Next week, Al Jazeera will introduce more key characters involved in the gold mafia.