The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the largest importer of Russian gold following sanctions imposed by Western countries.
According to a foreign news agency, Russian customs records show that the United Arab Emirates has ordered 1,000 gold shipments from Russia since the start of the Ukraine war last year. The UAE imported 75.7 tonnes of gold from Russia worth $4.3 billion.
In 2021, the Arab state imported only 1.3 tonnes of gold from Russia. China and Turkey were the other major countries that imported 20, 20 tons of gold from Russia.
In one year, Russia lost 99% of its gold. 8 percent of exports go to United Arab Emirates, China and Turkey. On March 7, 2022, the London Bullion Market Association banned Russia’s gold bullion.
By the end of August 2022, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, the United States, Canada and Japan had also stopped all gold imports from Russia. Russian customs records show that gold traders found new markets for their gold in the UAE, Turkey and China.