Thaba Investments Replaces Alain Goetz Firm in Uganda Gold Market
Four years after US sanctions froze assets tied to Belgian gold entrepreneur Alain Goetz and his African Gold Refinery, a successor firm registered at the exact same Entebbe address accounts for nearly half of Uganda’s multi-billion-dollar gold export market, according to trade data, corporate filings, customs records, and interviews with Western diplomats, Ugandan officials, and gold merchants. Bloomberg reported that the newly prominent entity, Thaba Investments, utilizes the same logistics provider and supply chain corridors historically operated by Goetz’s shuttered enterprise, generating $6.8 billion in export value between 2023 and mid-2026.
How Thaba Investments Replaced African Gold Refinery After 2022 US Sanctions
The African Gold Refinery once processed two-fifths of Uganda’s gold exports between 2018 and 2021, totaling $1.8 billion in recorded value before Washington imposed sanctions in 2022. The US Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Implementation stated in 2023 that Goetz helped establish the illicit routes through which conflict gold moved from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Following the sanctions and subsequent asset freezes, the AGR board resolved to close the firm in April 2024. Despite the formal liquidation, customs records compiled by Big Trade Data show that Thaba Investments stepped directly into the market vacuum, capturing a comparable share of Uganda’s export volume and reaching nearly 50% of the nation’s total gold export value in the twelve months leading up to June 2026. In July 2026, Thaba recorded approximately $51 million in exports, marking its lowest monthly volume since January 2024.
Disputed Ownership and Ongoing Proxies Behind Uganda’s Gold Corridors
Corporate records show that Thaba Investments has shared a registration address with AGR since 2021 and involves overlapping personnel. The majority shareholder of Thaba, Musthaque Murikkoli, previously held an employment visa sponsored by AGR. Murikkoli stated in an emailed response to Bloomberg that he has never maintained any business relationship with Goetz. Goetz similarly denied any current role in Thaba, stating in a written response that claims linking him to the firm have no credible basis. Conversely, three Western officials and one former senior Ugandan financial investigator familiar with Goetz’s activities stated that Goetz has continued operations through appointed proxies to keep his name off official Ugandan filings. A 2022 report by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative previously noted that AGR was trading directly as Thaba Investments.
Global Bullion Hubs and the Challenge of Enforcing International Compliance
The ongoing operations of the network highlight the structural difficulties in severing conflict-linked minerals from international supply chains once the bullion reaches major trading hubs like the United Arab Emirates. Official data shows the UAE imported approximately $99 billion of gold from Africa in 2025. Swissaid, a Swiss government-backed NGO tracking transparent supply chains in eastern Congo, estimated that between $24 billion and $35 billion in smuggled gold enters global markets from Africa annually, with a significant portion transiting through the UAE. In a written response, a UAE official maintained that the nation’s regulatory framework complies with and occasionally exceeds Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development guidelines on responsible sourcing, extending strict mandates to refiners, recyclers, and trading companies alike.