Rockfire Pulls Out of Plan to Buy Emirates Gold on UK Sanctions - Bloomberg
London-listed Rockfire Resources Plc said it pulled out of an agreement to purchase Dubai precious metals refinery Emirates Gold as it couldn’t do so without breaching UK sanctions.
The mining explorer said it terminated the deal after seeking legal advice following Britain’s sanctioning of gold trader Paloma Precious DMCC due to dealings in Russian gold. The United Arab Emirates-based firm, which owns Emirates Gold, was part of a network that channeled $300 million of gold revenues to Russia, the UK said on Wednesday.
“Following the sanctions, Rockfire immediately sought legal advice from the company’s lawyers,” the firm said in a statement on Monday. “The conclusion of these discussions is that Rockfire is unable to complete the transaction without breaching the sanction.”
Emirates Gold DMCC was removed from the UAE’s accredited refinery list due to concerns that its owners were linked to alleged money launders Howard Baker and Simon Rudland. Baker, who the UK said was the key individual behind Paloma Precious, was also sanctioned by Britain.
Paloma was previously a shareholder in Rockfire, but sold its stake in September in an off-market transaction. Rockfire announced its proposed deal to buy Emirates Gold in September.
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