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There is Italian steel in the Brazilian police. Inquisitor He bought gold from a merchant who was mining the metal illegally. Police said the company bought the gold from the Amazon rainforest in South America.
According to public documents, the refiner Chimet supplied the metal to four major technology companies. Tech companies Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) name Chimet as a specific source of gold used in their products.
Technology companies often use small amounts of metal in circuit boards. Circuit boards are used in technological products such as computers.
Investigative news agency reporter Brazil examined police documents with Reuters. The documents show Brazilian federal police have accused Chimet of buying millions in gold from CHM do Brasil.
CHM do Brasil allegedly obtained the gold from illegal miners. Lawyers representing CHM said the company acquired the gold legally with all the necessary documents.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro After assuming power in 2019, illegal mining increased.
Uncontrolled Mines have destroyed rainforests in the Amazon and polluted rivers with mercury. Miners have clashed violently with indigenous people who want to protect their land.
Brazilian research group Istituto Escolhas estimates that the country produced 84 metric tons of illegal gold during Bolsonaro’s first two years in office. That’s up 23 percent from the previous two years and is nearly half of Brazil’s total gold production.
Larissa Rodriguez is the author of the Escolhas report. She said: “The company that is buying gold from Brazil already knows that there is a big risk that it is buying Irregular Gold – Blood Gold of the Amazon.
Chimet’s representative said the company terminated its relationship with CHM in October 2021 after discovering reports of illegal gold trading.
In the year A police document from August 2021 shows that Chimet He reportedly bought $385 million worth of gold from CHM between 2015 and 2020.
A police investigation into CHM’s possible crimes is ongoing.
The four American technology companies listed Chimet with more than 100 gold refiners. supply chains During the five-year period of investigation. They also recently listed Chimet in their 2021 documents.
Giovanni Prelazzi is a Chimet company representative. He pointed out that Chimet has no direct relationship with the four technology companies. Instead, he said, Prelazi sold the gold to banks for various services. He did not name the banks.
Apple says its policy prohibits the use of illegally mined minerals. The iPhone maker said companies unable to comply with such standards have been removed from its supply chain.
Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft did not comment.
After learning about the CHM investigation in Brazil, Chimet said he began working with Deloitte to look at his other suppliers. In the year In April 2020, Chimet was re-approved by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) as a gold resource pool. Levels.
I’m Gregory Stachel.
Jake Spring reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel produced it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in this story
control – no. To bring (something) under the control of authority
Irregular – adj. Not following the usual rules of what should be done
Normal – n. An acceptable or desirable level of quality or achievement
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