THE Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) says between 2022 and 2024, the agency uncovered a mineral smuggling syndicate worth about K1 billion. FIC Director General Clement Kapalu says foreign cash was smuggled into Zambia to buy illegally mined copper, gold and gemstones, which were then taken out of the country without paying taxes. Kapalu says gold rushes in places such as Mufumbwe, with unregulated mining, give rise to illicit markets. He was speaking yesterday during a workshop on Gold Supply Chain Practices: An Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Perspective. “The link between gold and terrorist financing is not a distant problem, it’s on our doorsteps. The Financial Intelligence Centre’s own trends report tells the same story. Between 2022...