Swiss government finally bans gold imports from Sudan – effectiveness now depends on enforcement
Ein Dokument
Press release
Swiss government finally bans gold imports from Sudan – effectiveness now depends on enforcement
Bern/Lausanne, 10 September 2026 – SWISSAID welcomes the fact that the Swiss Federal Council has finally aligned itself with the EU sanctions against trade in Sudanese gold. To prevent Sudanese conflict gold from being imported into Switzerland via third countries, the Swiss government must tackle the problem at its root: the lack of transparency regarding the origin of gold imported into Switzerland from Dubai, a hub for conflict gold.
As of today, 10 September 2026, the Federal Council has banned the purchase and import of gold of Sudanese origin, as announced in a press release. Switzerland is thus finally aligning itself with the EU sanctions, which have been in force since 15 July 2026. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has confirmed to SWISSAID that imports of Sudanese gold via third countries are also prohibited. “This step was long overdue. As the world’s most important gold hub, Switzerland bears a great responsibility and must combat the trade in conflict gold by all means,” says Marc Ummel, commodities expert at SWISSAID.
The civil war in Sudan has already claimed 150,000 lives, with 13 million people displaced. Both warring parties finance the conflict largely through the gold trade.
Despite the tightened sanctions, one problem remains: gold can still be smuggled out of Sudan illegally and may find its way into Switzerland via the gold hub of Dubai. It is estimated that 80 to 90 tonnes of gold per year are produced in Sudan, corresponding to a value of CHF 9.2 to 10.3 billion. According to an official declaration by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), 70 tonnes of gold were produced in 2025. In 2025, exports of 14.7 tonnes of gold were declared. A large proportion of the gold is smuggled into neighbouring countries (gold from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to Chad, Libya, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Uganda – and from the SAF to Egypt) and subsequently exported to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In 2025, Switzerland imported 420 tonnes of gold worth CHF 38.9 billion from the UAE, almost three times as much as in 2024. According to the authorities in Dubai, 38 per cent of the gold from the UAE was exported to Switzerland last year. This year, up to and including July, Switzerland has already imported 233 tonnes of the precious metal (worth CHF 27.8 billion) from Dubai. The UAE is the main hub for gold from Sudan, and Switzerland was one of the main export destinations in 2025.
The list of suppliers from high-risk countries for the year 2025 – which the Swiss refinery Valcambi was required to publish in accordance with the new requirements of the international LBMA standard – includes a trading company from the UAE. This company recently imported gold from Sudan, as SWISSAID’s analysis of Sudanese gold flows, published in 2025, revealed.
The legal framework and control mechanisms are still not robust enough to put a stop to the illegal gold trade. In particular, gold imports from the UAE lack the necessary transparency to ascertain the true origin of this gold.
SWISSAID therefore calls for:
- The disclosure of supplier names must be enshrined in law to make it mandatory for all refineries. A unique opportunity presents itself this year with the drafting of the ordinance implementing the revised Precious Metals Control Act, which was passed by Parliament in June 2025.
- SECO must take the necessary measures to implement these sanctions, in particular by carrying out the required checks at Switzerland’s largest gold refinery, which imports gold from the UAE (Valcambi). SECO must be able to determine the actual origin of all gold imported into Switzerland from the UAE and rule out the presence of gold from Sudan. In view of these sanctions, SECO must systematically ascertain the actual origin of gold imported into Switzerland.
- Any import of gold from the United Arab Emirates whose actual origin (for mined gold, the country in which the gold was mined; for recycled gold, the country in which the gold entered the market) is not clearly declared must be blocked by Swiss customs.
- Disclosure of the actual origin of gold imported into Switzerland: For gold imports under customs tariff code 7108.12 (key 912) from high-risk countries, importers must disclose the names of all suppliers and countries right down to the actual origin of this gold. This applies in particular to the Valcambi refinery with regard to its gold imports from the UAE.
Contacts:
Marc Ummel, Head of Unit Raw Materials, SWISSAID,
Tel: +41 (0)79 694 49 21, m.ummel@swissaid.ch
Thaïs In der Smitten, media spokesperson, SWISSAID
Tel: +41 (0)77 408 27 65, media@swissaid.ch
Kind regards,
Thaïs In der Smitten SWISSAID - Medien und Kampagnen Tel. + 41 (0)77 408 27 65
th.indersmitten@swissaid.ch www.swissaid.ch