Nearly half of Uganda’s gold exports come from firm Bloomberg links to sanctioned network

What the report says

Uganda Business News, citing a Bloomberg investigation, reports that Thaba Investments, an Entebbe-based company, accounted for nearly half of Uganda’s gold exports in the 12 months to June while sharing suppliers and a shipper with the African Gold Refinery, a company the United States sanctioned in 2022. Thaba and its majority shareholder deny any connection to the sanctioned network, and Bloomberg said it found no public document proving that founder Alain Goetz controls Thaba or directs its trading.

The article says Uganda’s gold exports rose sharply to $8.9 billion, or 70.1 tonnes, over the year to June, even though recorded domestic production remained small. Bloomberg’s customs-data analysis put Thaba’s exports at about $6.8 billion from 2023 to mid-2026. The report also noted that AGR had previously held a similar export share before its board resolved to close the company in 2024.

Bloomberg highlighted several overlaps between Thaba and AGR, including shared office registration in Entebbe, a company secretary linked to both firms, and suppliers that later sold to Thaba. It also said the logistics company moving AGR exports now handles most of Thaba’s shipments. Thaba’s owner and Goetz both rejected claims of a proxy relationship. The broader context is Uganda’s long-running gold boom, which official and international reports have partly linked to gold sourced from outside the country, including the Democratic Republic of Congo.