WeeklySA_AdminINTRIGUE:A private jet at the centre of a mysterious fake gold smuggling case in Zambia belongs to a Egyptian tycoon, Ibrahim Al Organi(left), Sky News can reveal…
By Ben van der Merwe and Michelle Inez Simon, Data and Forensics Unit
Last August, authorities in Zambia raided a private jet, which had landed at the African country’s largest airport after flying more than 3 000 miles from Cairo.
Acting on a tip, Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) found $5.7m (approximately R101 million) in cash, five pistols and 127kg of what appeared to be gold.
Zambian authorities later tested the pieces and discovered they were mostly made up of copper and zinc. “This has been a clear case of scamming, gold scamming,” said DEC director Nason Banda at a news conference after the operation.
Zambian authorities seized the jet and detained 10 people on board, including six Egyptian nationals. For almost a year, however, the owner of the jet has remained a mystery.
Documents obtained by Sky News, in collaboration with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), show that the plane is owned by prominent Egyptian businessman Ibrahim Al Organi. In an affidavit filed to Zambia’s High Court in December, Al Organi identified himself as the owner of the aircraft.
Who is Al Organi?
The Egyptian businessman is chairman of the Organi Group, a sprawling network of companies in construction, real estate, travel, and security. In January 2023, Al Organi became an official sponsor of Al Ahly, the most successful football team in Africa.
Al Organi’s affidavit, submitted in a bid to regain possession of the aircraft, says he is the “sole director” of the company World Aviation Sinai International Mountain Limited, which is registered with the aviation authority in San Marino, a tiny landlocked country surrounded by Italy.
San Marino aviation registry documents confirm the firm owns the Global Express jet that was detained by Zambian authorities.
In the affidavit, Al Organi says neither he nor the plane’s management company, Ibis Air, had any connection with the Egyptians who chartered the flight from Cairo to Lusaka.
Al Organi did not respond to a further request for comment.
In April, Zambian authorities released the jet after reaching an agreement with Al Organi’s company.
Flight tracking data shows the plane flew from Lusaka to Johannesburg on 12 April.
The ownership of the plane and its links to Egypt have been subject to speculation since the raid almost one year ago.
According to the Associated Press, a journalist in Egypt was briefly detained in August after publishing the names of the Egyptians arrested on-board the plane.
Five of those Egyptians were subsequently charged with espionage, but these charges were dropped four days later.
The sixth Egyptian, a flight attendant, was released without charge.
Five Zambians connected with the plot are currently standing trial in Lusaka on charges of espionage.
The Zambian Drug Enforcement Commission and Director of Public Prosecutions declined to comment, citing the ongoing legal cases.* The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News.
MOZAMBIQUE GOVT SEIZES UNDECLARED GOLD
EXPLOITATION:Local mining sector has been involved in under-invoicing and tax evasion, causing losses of many millions of dollars to the state…
By AIM
The Mozambican government has recovered, in recent years, around 30kg of undeclared gold from mining operators in the central province of Manica.
The director of the Manica Provincial Service for Infrastructure, Mineral Resources and Energy, Silva Manuel, told AIM that the amount is the result of tracking work carried out by the sector, with a view to combating the exploitation and smuggling of minerals.
However, the real quantity of undeclared gold may be higher than just 30kg, since the companies operating in the mining sector in Mozambique have been involved in under-invoicing and tax evasion, causing losses of many millions of dollars that should go to the state coffers every year.
In recent years, according to the source, the amount of gold produced in the province has been increasing, thanks to the declaration of production by the mining companies.
But gold is also being mined in an artisanal way by individuals, some of whom are foreigners, mostly Zimbabweans. Part of the production is sold outside of the normal mineral sales circuit.
Tracking is making it possible to recover quantities of undeclared gold, which could increase revenue for the state.
“Operators are already declaring the amount of gold produced. They are doing so because they know that, even if they don’t declare it, they will be discovered through the tracking work that the government has been doing. It’s a job that is bringing good results”, Manuel said.
As a result of this work, he said, gold (declared) production had increased from 400.03kg in 2022 to 759.13kg in 2023.
“Last year, we had the highest production ever, and this year, the province is expected to produce over 800 kilos of gold”, Manuel added.
“Despite the work being done by the sector, collaboration is necessary between the population and the operators to put an end to the illegal exploitation and sale of minerals in Manica”, he said. “We want to invest in order to continue working on the ground. But this requires adequate means for the technical staff to be at the mining site. At the moment, we’re only doing two or three surveys a month”.
He explained that the ideal would be for this work to be done at least twice a week. “What makes us happy is realizing that the operators are aware that they will be tracked at any moment. They voluntarily declare their production”, he said.
Mining is carried out industrially by duly licensed companies. But data from the mining sector indicates that more than ten thousand artisanal miners, both Mozambican and foreign, are extracting gold in Manica. – Source: AIM
