Who are the Gold Mafia? A cigarette don and a man named Dollars
Part 1 of Who are the Gold Mafia?
dove into the lives of some of Southern Africas biggest money launderers and smugglers, from pastors to diplomats.
Now, in Part 2, meet one of the regions biggest cigarette moguls, a showoff money launderer and their crafty partners who are plundering their nations of money and gold using a web of highly-placed connections, front companies and carefully doctored documents.
Simon Rudland is one of Zimbabwes richest men and the owner of Gold Leaf Tobacco [Al Jazeera]
Simon Rudland
One of Zimbabwes richest men, Rudland co-owns Gold Leaf Tobacco, among the largest cigarette manufacturers in South Africa. But in 2022, the South African Revenue Service accused Rudlands company of selling illicit cigarettes and avoiding taxes.
Al Jazeeras investigation shows that his web of crime extends far beyond that, to an elaborate money laundering and gold smuggling scheme that helps him hide millions of dollars of unaccounted cash.
Documents and witness statements reveal that Rudland also loans some of his money to Zimbabwes government, which is cash-strapped because of Western sanctions. In exchange, Fidelity Printers and Refiners, the Zimbabwe central banks refinery, lets his couriers carry millions of dollars of gold to Dubai for sale through frequent trips. He gives Fidelity the money, to buy the gold, for him to export, fellow Zimbabwean gold smuggler Ewan Macmillan said in secretly recorded interviews, claiming that Rudland bankrolls the whole country.
At the centre of Rudlands money laundering operations is a company in Dubai called Aulion that buys Zimbabwean gold using his dirty cash. Macmillan claimed Rudland has access to Zimbabwes highest-ranking officials, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the head of the central bank. Among Rudlands business partners are a retired general, a former sanctioned energy minister and a former minister of foreign affairs, the investigation shows.
In 2019, two men attempted to assassinate Rudland, an incident he barely survived. Rudland was shot while in his car, but the culprits were never caught.
Asked for a response to Al Jazeeras investigation, Rudland told us that the allegations against him formed part of a smear campaign by an unidentified third party. He described himself as a strong businessman competing against the greedy and the envious.
He denied any involvement in the sale of illicit cigarettes, in gold or other forms of smuggling and in sanctions busting. He also denied any knowledge of Aulion and its activities and told us that it was not true that money passed from his accounts to Aulion.
He admitted to dealing with Mohamed Khan, who he agreed appeared to be a money launderer, and that two of Rudlands companies had authorised Khans company to act as their agent, but denied that any form of money laundering had been undertaken for him or any of his businesses.
Gold Leaf Tobacco, his company, emphatically denied any involvement, past or present, in money laundering, the trade in illegal gold or related matters. No untaxed or illegal cigarettes could be attributed to Gold Leaf, though the proceeds of the illicit sale of its products by others did appear to have been moved between jurisdictions and thereby laundered.
Fidelity Printers and Refiners denied all wrongdoing.
Mohamed Khan built his money-laundering empire by bribing influential people in several South African banks [Al Jazeera]
Mohamed Khan, aka Mo Dollars
He likes flashy cars, has a weakness for women and is deadly dangerous, Khans ex-wife Wardah Latief and brother Dawood told Al Jazeera. Khan, who is known as Mo Dollars, owns PKSA and SALT Asset Management, South African financial services firms that help Simon Rudland and others launder large sums of money through fake invoices and stolen identities.
Khan built his money-laundering empire by bribing influential people in several South African banks to either turn a blind eye or work actively with him on his schemes: Al Jazeeras I-Unit has accessed bank statements revealing how he pays them off every month.
Dawood said the brothers were poor growing up and often mocked by other children.
Khan loves to show off his newfound wealth: He travels business class, stays in the most expensive hotels in Dubai, and would get Latief all the designer clothes she wanted.
But Khan also has a much darker side. Audio recordings obtained by Al Jazeera reveal veiled threats against his own brother Dawood if he decided to turn into a witness against Mohamed and his clients. You know what happens, right? Khan asked Dawoods wife on a phone call. They kill you, she responded. Exactly, Khan said.
Mohamed Khan told us that all allegations against him were false and based on speculation, conjecture and manufactured and doctored evidence. Khan confirmed he owned PKSA and SALT Asset Management but denied involvement in money laundering or other criminal activity. He denied bribing anyone.
PKSA and SALT Asset Management did not respond to requests for comment sent by Al Jazeera.
Howie Baker, Simon Rudlands point man in Dubai, is considered the glue that held the Gold Leaf Mafia together [Al Jazeera]
Howard Howie Baker
Howard Howie Baker is Rudlands point person in Dubai, the investigation shows. He is the owner of several gold-trading companies, including Aulion Global Trading the firm at the centre of Rudlands laundering operations. The company buys the Zimbabwean gold exported by Rudlands couriers.
It also receives tens of millions of dollars from the accounts of Gold Leaf Tobacco via fake invoices created by Mo Dollars and earlier by his brother Dawood. These invoices create the illusion of tobacco imports by Gold Leaf into Zimbabwe that in reality do not exist.
According to Dawood, Baker was considered the glue keeping everything together.
Baker, who like Rudland and Macmillan is from Zimbabwe, also is the owner of Rappa Refinery, a gold refinery in South Africa which supplies Aulion with gold, the investigation shows. He did not respond to Al Jazeeras request for a response.
Andries Greyvensteyn is co-owner of several companies involved in illicit gold trading [Facebook/Al Jazeera]
Andries Greyvensteyn
Andries Greyvensteyn is a partner in Aulion Global Trading.
Together with Baker and Mo Dollars, Greyvensteyn is also the director of a South African gold dealer called Gold Kid whose offices serve as the headquarters of Gold Leafs dodgy operations.
It is another company used to move gold and illicit funds. Documents obtained by Al Jazeeras I-Unit show that Gold Kid was one of the companies Mohamed Khan used to launder money.
Greyvensteyn is also the owner of a company in the United States called Liberty Gold, used by Mo Dollars to launder millions of dollars to the US using fake invoices, documents accessed by Al Jazeera show.
In response to our questions, Greyvensteyn said that he had not knowingly participated in any money laundering scheme. Liberty Gold denied all knowledge of the mat
Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 1:15 pm