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Article

2 Jun 2015

Author:
AFP

Swiss slammed for closing DR Congo 'dirty gold' case

Activists on Tuesday accused Swiss authorities of encouraging impunity, after prosecutors shut a case against a company suspected of laundering gold pillaged by armed groups in Democratic Republic of Congo. The Swiss attorney general's office decided in March to close a case against Argor-Heraeus, which faced allegations of "complicity in war crimes and pillage" after it refined three tonnes of gold ore pillaged...In its ruling, which was quietly made public a month later, the prosecutor's office said there was not enough evidence that the Swiss firm...was aware of the illegal origin of the gold...believed to have been illegally mined by a group called the National Integrationist Front...Argor, which claimed ignorance of the gold's origin, welcomed the decision and told AFP it "never doubted the decision since all allegations are without cause"..."It is completely incomprehensible," TRIAL director Philip Grant told AFP, insisting that Argor should have known, or at least suspected, that the precious metal did not come from gold-poor Uganda but had been pillaged in DR Congo... [Also refers to British Hussar, Rand Refinery]

Part of the following timelines

Swiss General Attorney not to prosecute Argor-Heraeus over refining of alleged pillaged gold by illegal armed group in Rep. Dem. of Congo

Argor-Heraeus investigation (re Dem. Rep. Congo)

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