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Sudan’s Conflict Gold and the United Arab Emirates’ Untouchable Hub

The Insider
Amanda Kadlec and Grace Parcover
August 27, 2026

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Episode Notes:

Western governments keep sanctioning Sudan's conflict gold, yet the trade funding a fourth year of war rolls on. In her recent article for War on the Rocks, Amanda Kadlec argues the failure is structural and that the one tool that would actually work, cutting the refiners off from foreign currency clearing and correspondent banking, goes unused precisely because it would work. Amanda joins Grace for this episode of The Insider to trace how the gold moves from Sudan to Dubai and unpack why perhaps the most effective tool remains unused.

Image: trolvag via Wikimedia Commons