FIC chief Clement Kapalu says Zambia's money laundering risk has moved from medium to high as K1 billion mineral smuggling network surfaces

Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) Director General Clement Kapalu says Zambia's money laundering risk has moved from medium to high, as details emerge of a network that allegedly moved about K1 billion in copper, gold and gemstones out of the country without customs clearance. Mr Kapalu spoke at a workshop in Lusaka on gold supply chains. According to the Centre, the transactions took place between 2022 and 2024, and the minerals were exported outside customs procedures without the required taxes being paid. He said the syndicate also involved foreign currency brought into Zambia through illicit mineral dealings. He also raised concern about suspected links between illegal gold mining and the financing of extremist groups in the region. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Gold Council called for tighter controls on the mineral trade, including systems that can trace gold from the mine to the point of sale. No person or company has been named, and no arrest or charge has been reported. ## Background The FIC is Zambia's financial intelligence unit. It receives reports of suspicious transactions from banks and other businesses, analyses them and passes cases to investigators such as the Drug Enforcement Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission and the police. The K1 billion figure and the 2022 to 2024 period match a case in the Centre's 10th trends report, made public in July 2025. That report described foreign nationals from an unnamed East African country, which it called Country O, bringing undeclared cash into Zambia to buy illegally mined minerals in Kasempa, Mufulira, Kitwe and Chingola and smuggling them across a porous border. It is not clear whether Mr Kapalu was describing the same case. The Centre's latest report, its 11th, put illicit financial flows at US$1.8 billion, down from US$3.5 billion in the previous period. ## Why it matters Copper is Zambia's main export, and the dollars it earns help hold up the kwacha. Minerals that leave