Thaba Investments Limited, a major refiner and exporter of gold in Uganda, is under scrutiny for allegedly evading millions of dollars in taxes. The company has pocketed billions in profits through a well-orchestrated scheme that is denying the country substantial tax revenue. Uganda Revenue Authority documents seen by The Independent indicate that Thaba Investments is under-declaring the amount of gold it refines and exports to markets such as the United Arab Emirates.
The documents show that for the period from January 2022 to January 2026, Thaba declared a gross weight of gold exported as 586,759 kg. The net weight declared was 330,627 kg. The difference between the two figures is 256,132 kg. Uganda imposes an export levy of USD 200 per kilogram on processed gold. This levy is stipulated in the Mining and Mineral (Export of Refined Gold) Regulations introduced in 2024.
Unpaid Export Levies Reach Shs192 Billion
The 256,132 kg of unaccounted gold represents a loss of USD 51 million (Shs 192 billion) in tax revenue from a highly lucrative sector. Industry sources say six companies are refining and exporting gold in Uganda: Thaba, Orofino, Aurnish, Simba, Karibu, and Faru. The value of the undeclared gold by Thaba Investments exceeds the budgets of some government departments. Experts warn that such gold tax evasion Uganda undermines the country’s fiscal position.
The documents also show that Thaba Investments has made a profit of USD 11 billion (Shs 40 trillion) since it took over from African Gold Refinery in 2022. This figure highlights how lucrative Uganda’s gold trade has become in recent years. However, the tax evasion has brought the company back into the spotlight. It draws further scrutiny on its owners, the Uganda Revenue Authority, and the lax regulation of gold trade in Uganda.
URA Acknowledges Problem of Under-Declaration
“Criminal networks are exploiting the system with the help of senior government officials,” a source who preferred anonymity told The Independent. “The URA system appears to be compromised, with the knowledge and involvement of high-ranking officials. Access to the operational accounts of gold exporters is restricted to a small, carefully selected group of insiders.” He added that the racket stretches from officers at the export declaration point at Entebbe Airport all the way to the highest echelons at URA.
Robert Kalumba, the Communications Manager for URA, told The Independent that the tax body is addressing the problem of under-declaration. “It’s a vice that sabotages the economy. We are dealing with it as one of the biggest problems we have,” he said. Despite this acknowledgment, the gold tax evasion Uganda scandal continues to raise serious questions about enforcement.
From African Gold Refinery to Thaba Investments
Sources say Thaba Investments was known as African Gold Refinery before rebranding to its current name in 2022. The earlier company was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for allegedly smuggling gold from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Uganda. AGR director Alan Goetz, a Belgian businessman who has operated in East Africa for decades, was also sanctioned. Goetz has also been implicated in gold smuggling from Venezuela.
Goetz is an international gold merchant who at one point ran 15 companies across four countries: Uganda, Belgium, Dubai, and Luxembourg, according to The Sentry, an investigative organization tracking criminal networks. In a 2018 report titled The Golden Laundromat, The Sentry stated that Goetz refined illegally smuggled conflict gold from eastern Congo at AGR in Uganda. He then exported it through a series of companies to the United States and Europe.
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Goetz, AGR, and a network of companies involved in illicit gold movements valued at hundreds of millions of dollars per year from the DRC. In August 2022, the European Union also sanctioned the Belgian tycoon for importing illicit gold from the DRC. By the time of the sanctions, AGR had exported 96,479 kg of gold. Sources say the rebrand was intended to give the company a new lease of life following the reputational damage.
Gold Remains Uganda’s Biggest Export
On March 11, Secretary to the Treasury Ramathan Ggoobi told Parliament that in 2025, Uganda earned USD 14 billion (Shs 53 trillion) in exports. This marked the highest amount ever recorded for the country. Gold accounted for 40 percent of these earnings. Gold is currently Uganda’s biggest export by value. In the financial year 2024/2025, Uganda exported gold worth USD 4.2 billion, according to Bank of Uganda data.
Uganda acts as a major regional processing hub. The country imports raw gold from neighbouring nations, refines it, and exports it. The value of Uganda’s gold exports jumped by almost 70 percent from the previous financial year. Data show that more than half of Uganda’s exported gold comes from Thaba Investments. Much of the gold processed in Uganda and exported to the UAE is believed to originate from the DRC.
The gold tax evasion Uganda scandal has exposed deep flaws in the country’s mineral sector regulation. Policy analysts say the government must act quickly to close loopholes and hold violators accountable. Otherwise, the country will continue losing billions in revenue from its most valuable export commodity.
