In a move that shocked Zimbabwean parliamentarians, the Speaker of the Zimbabwean Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, prevented Parliament from investigating the Al Jazeera Gold Mafia criminal and corruption allegations.
This while South Africa has launched an investigation into several people who may be involved in a gold smuggling and money laundering scheme uncovered by the news service’s investigative unit.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said in an address to the Parliament of South Africa this week that the investigation was in the “investigation stage”.
“We are committed to preserving the integrity of our financial system in the interest of the broader economy and ordinary citizens,” Ramaphosa added on Thursday.
“Details of the steps being taken cannot be disclosed at this stage without compromising the investigation,” the news service reported.
The investigation is the direct result of Gold Mafia, a series by Al Jazeera’s Investigation Unit (I-Unit) into gold smuggling and money laundering in Southern Africa.
The key person in this process was a man named Mohamed Khan, who goes by the nickname Mo Dollars.
“He’s kind of presented as a kind of shadowy figure who controls money laundering in South Africa,” money laundering investigator Paul Holden told Al Jazeera.
Among Khan’s biggest customers was Simon Rudland, a Zimbabwean millionaire who owns one of the region’s largest tobacco companies, Gold Leaf Tobacco. South African revenue officials accused Rudland of evading taxes by selling his cigarettes on the black market.

source:The Zimbabwean parliament is preventing investigation into the “Gold Mafia”, while SA confirms that it will investigate the information uncovered by Al Jazeera (afrinuus.com)