Conflict Gold: Sentry Statement on EU Sudan Gold Ban and What’s Needed Now

Last week, the European Union (EU) announced an import ban on all gold from Sudan, which stood in contrast to the UK government’s newly announced network sanctions on gold traffickers in Sudan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While the EU’s concern about Sudan’s deadly conflict gold trade is laudable, the ban is not likely to be effective unless followed by other, more targeted policy measures. 

Both sides in Sudan’s war, but particularly the genocidal and UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have profited heavily from the conflict gold trade. Sudan produced an estimated 70 tons of gold in 2025, worth approximately $230 million—roughly two-thirds of that gold was smuggled out of the country to the UAE, perpetuating the conflict. 

Instead of ending the conflict gold trade, import bans such as the new EU initiative simply drive it further underground. Gold will still be mined, produced, and traded, just increasingly through black-market channels. Gold bans do slightly increase the costs, since traders and traffickers will now need fake documentation to “prove” the gold comes from Egypt, Chad, Ethiopia, or another neighboring country. But beyond that, the effects will likely be limited, other than making it more difficult to trace. 

Sasha Lezhnev, Senior Policy Advisor at The Sentry, said: 

“Conflict gold from Sudan, worth over $200 million per year, is fueling the war and flowing to the UAE and global markets. The EU and US should build on the UK’s recent network sanctions and target the illicit networks trafficking the conflict gold. It is only through accountability that illicit traffickers will change their calculations away from war profiteering.” 

Moving forward, the EU, the UK, the US, the gold industry, and other actors should take three main steps to help curb Sudan’s deadly conflict gold trade:

1. The EU and the US should follow the UK’s lead in designating illicit gold trafficking networks in Sudan, the UAE, and the neighboring countries to Sudan where the gold is smuggled. 
2. Banks, refiners, and jewelers should conduct enhanced due diligence on all gold from the UAE until there is a very significant reduction in the conflict gold trade from Sudan. 
3. The EU, UK, US, and other governments should work with gold industry bodies such as the London Bullion Market Association and World Gold Council to set up a centralized gold initiative to make gold data transparent and to monitor and validate gold bullion centers. This would help standardize customs verification procedures and cut down on smuggling. The governments should also support initiatives to formalize the artisanal trade, particularly increasing artisanal miners’ access to finance.