Cameroon is set to launch a nationwide operation on August 1 to recover an estimated 305 billion CFA francs ($524 million) in unpaid taxes from undeclared gold exports after trade data from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) exposed major discrepancies in the country's official export records.
The operation will target 51 mining companies and 33 previously unidentified mining sites suspected of evading taxes and customs duties between 2023 and 2025, according to the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development.
The crackdown follows findings in the 2023 Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) report, which revealed that Cameroon officially declared exporting just 22.3 kilograms of gold in 2023.
In contrast, customs data from the UAE—one of the world's largest gold trading hubs—recorded imports of more than 15 tonnes of gold originating from Cameroon during the same period.
According to the Gold Demand Trends report published by the World Gold Council, gold sales in the United Arab Emirates reached approximately 37.8 tonnes during the first nine months of 2023, making the UAE one of the world's largest and most active gold trading and retail markets.
