Zimbabwe’s government is reportedly using smuggling gangs to sell gold worth hundreds of millions of dollars, skirting some of the consequences of tough Western sanctions imposed on the country over human rights abuses, Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) reported last week.

According to the report the smuggling feeds into an enormous money-laundering operation, all facilitated by Fidelity Gold Refinery, a subsidiary of Zimbabwe’s central bank, and enabled, in some cases, directly by senior government officials and relatives of the country’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Former Presidential advisor Eddie Cross told reporters last night that notorious gold smuggler Ewan Macmillan had fled Zimbabwe with his family. Mr Gold attracted a lot of attention after calling Vice President Chiwenga a dunderhead.

UK based preacher Uebert Angel has reportedly been stripped off his diplomatic status. Uebert Angel was appointed by President Mnangagwa to be Zimbabwe ambassador-at-large to Europe and the Americas.

"The so called Pastor, the guy who claims to be a Christian pastor has been stripped off his diplomatic passport, in-fact he had his passport removed from him and the President has stripped him of all status, he might in-fact face jail traders. The white gold trader has fled the country with his family," Cross revealed.

Source: ZNews