Reuters named the main directions of gold exports from Russia

The main buyers of Russian gold in 2022 were the United Arab Emirates, China and Turkey , reports Reuterswith reference to customs documents

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become a key trading center for Russian gold after the start of a special operation in Ukraine and the imposition of Western sanctions. This is reported by Reuters, citing Russian customs data obtained from a commercial supplier.

According to the agency, in 2022, the UAE imported 75.7 tons of Russian gold worth $4.3 billion. For comparison, in 2021, Russia exported 1.3 tons of gold to this country. The next largest destinations for gold exports from Russia were China and Turkey, importing about 20 tons each between February 24, 2022 and March 3, 2023, Reuters reports. Deliveries to China went through Hong Kong, the agency notes.

In total, according to the data cited by Reuters, during this period Russia exported 116.3 tons of gold, and these three countries accounted for 99.8% of the export of the precious metal. The agency notes that it cannot estimate how much of the gold mined in Russia was exported.

The UAE government's Gold Bullion Committee said the country has mechanisms in place against illegal goods, money laundering and sanctioned entities, and vowed that it will continue to "trade openly and honestly with its international partners in accordance with international norms." The Turkish Finance Ministry did not respond to a Reuters request, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the country's cooperation with Russia "should not be disrupted or coerced by any third party."

The Federal Customs Service (FCS) suspended the publication of import and export statistics last spring "to avoid incorrect estimates." In May 2022, FCS Deputy Head Ruslan Davydov, in an interview with RBC, said that these data are “subject to volatility” and some analysts “are in a hurry to make hasty global conclusions based on them,” and also said that against the backdrop of Western sanctions, it’s not worth showing “everything in a row.” In March 2023, the FCS decided to partially publish the statistics.

In early May, Bloomberg wrote that Russia was selling gold through the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Turkey, citing ImportGenius. As reported by the agency, from March to August 2022, precious metal worth $500 million was exported to the Emirates, and about $305 million to Turkey. to August 2022 Russian gold in the amount of $300 million.

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In 2021, according to the service, the UK was the largest buyer of Russian gold , which purchased 266.1 tons (88% of all exports) for $15.4 billion. After that, it could be re-exported to various countries, including the US and the EU , but now such transactions are prohibited due to sanctions.
Also, due to sanctions, Russia can no longer send gold for storage at JPMorgan Chase & Co. banks. and HSBC, as well as Brink's and Loomis, which play a leading role in the transport of precious metals. All these companies stopped working with Russia after the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine.

The European Union banned the purchase of Russian gold as part of the sixth package of sanctions, approved in July 2022, earlier similar bans were introduced by the United States, Japan , Canada and the United Kingdom.