The gold extracted illegally in the mines of the Kayapó indigenous land, in the south of Pará, has fueled the production of one of the biggest leaders of precious metals in Europe. It is an Italian group specialized in refining the ore for the manufacture of jewelry, such as wedding rings, and for the formation of gold bars that are kept in Swiss, English or American bank vaults.
The foreign buyer of this metal from forbidden areas in the Amazon —”legalized” through fraud before going abroad — is Chimet SPA Recuperadora e Beneficiadora de Metais, the Italian acronym for Química Metalúrgica Toscana, a giant in the sector that occupies the 44th position among the companies that earn the most in Italy.
In 2020, it had the biggest revenue in its history: more than 3 billion euros (about R$ 18 billion), an increase of 76% compared to the previous year.
To get to the name of the Italian refiner, the Federal Police investigated a complex criminal organization of illegal mining that operates in the south of Pará. The scheme was exposed in October with Operation Terra Desolata, when 12 arrest warrants were issued, in addition to the blocking of R$ 469 billion from the accounts of those investigated. Today, three months later, the detainees are released through habeas
corpus.
Chimet was born in the 1970s from an arm of Unoaerre, another leader in the sector in Italy, which claims to be responsible for producing 70% of the wedding rings sold in the country. Both are controlled by the same family, Squarcialupi, and are headquartered in Arezzo, a city that has a tradition in
jewelry production.
Described on its own website as an “environmentally friendly” company and holder of sustainability certificates “for its responsible action”, Chimet told Repórter Brasil that it always buys the metal accompanied by documents attesting to its legal origin.
“The purchases in question were always accompanied by documentation that attests to the licit provenance of the metal,” he said in a statement. However, the company acknowledged “the risk that negative effects could be associated with the trade and export of minerals from high-risk areas”.
Brazil, in this case, is the “high risk area” due to the ease of defrauding the origin of gold, as well as the fragility of inspection by the ANM (National Mining Agency) and other bodies. The invoices that declare the origin of the ore are on paper, filled in by the seller, who can easily lie about the place where the metal was extracted from.
“Unfortunately, illegal gold is a reality in the European market. Companies buy gold from illegal sources to reach certain international standards of production quantity”, says Nunzio Ragno, president of Antico, an acronym for the Italian gold association.
The PF investigation also points out that Chimet acquires the product from the Brazilian CHM, in a partnership relationship “established for decades” through partners Mauro Dogi and his son Giacomo, who are Italians but live in Brazil.
Both are described as “the main recipients of illegal gold from indigenous lands in the region”, according to a PF report revealed by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo and obtained by Repórter Brasil. Mauro Dogi was once a Chimet employee at its factory in Arezzo.
Between September 2015 and September 2020, Chimet paid CHM do Brasil the equivalent of 317 million euros (R$ 2.1 billion) in the acquisition of about a ton of the metal. The European company claims that this volume is irrelevant in relation to the total –70 tonnes– worked annually in the group’s factories.
CHM, in turn, bought the metal from Cooperouri (Cooperativa de Garimpeiros e Mineradores de Ourilândia and Region) which, according to the Federal Police, extracts gold from the indigenous territory. As evidence, the police inform that the company founded by Dogi made 25 deposits to the cooperative, totaling R$ 11.7 million, in a period of one year (between 2019 and 2020).
In addition to extracting directly from a prohibited area, Cooperouri also acquires the metal from illegal miners and middlemen operating in the same region – R$246 million were transferred to these suppliers between September 2015 and September 2020.
Repórter Brasil tried to contact Cooperouri’s management, but the lawyer responsible for defending the cooperative and one of its directors, Douglas Alves de Morais, did not respond to the questions sent by the report until the publication of this text.
Export on private flights
CHM also acts as an exporter of illegal gold. The investigation points out that the export takes place “in private flights, without the proper knowledge of the competent authorities, without going through the Integrated Foreign Trade System (Siscomex) [da Receita Federal]”.
When questioned, the Federal Revenue told Repórter Brasil that it works together with the PF “in actions to combat smuggling and the illegal trade in gold.”
Chimet, through lawyer Roberto Alboni, stated that Mauro Dogi worked as a worker at the Italian headquarters for five years, between 1990 and 1995. The company also said that its relationship with CHM do Brasil lasted “from four to five years”, being discontinued last October.
In a statement, CHM denied that it had acquired gold from indigenous lands and said that its acquisitions were made “from cooperatives able to mine in their respective areas” that always “presented the legally required and necessary documentation to carry out their activities.”
The boss of Badia al Pino
Chimet founder Sergio Squarcialupi, who was once president of Unoaerre, is described in the Tuscan press as “il patron di Badia al Pino” [o patrão de Badia al Pino], in reference to a district of Arezzo where one of the company’s facilities is located. His daughter, Maria Cristina Squarcialupi, is the current chairman of the board of directors of jewelry manufacturer Unoaerre.
The founder of Chimet was investigated from 2008 onwards and was even convicted of crimes such as environmental damage, organization for illicit tailings trafficking and misrepresentation, but the convictions were reversed in the Supreme Court of Cassation (equivalent to the Federal Supreme Court) in 2017 .
When contacted, Unoaerre said it had never bought gold directly from Brazil. However, on your balance sheet
2020 sustainability report, the company reports that it carries out most of its acquisitions, as well as the refinement of gold, with partner Chimet, described in the same document as a company that meets the criteria of attesting that gold has a “legitimate origin”. and “conflict-free”.
As they are sister companies, it is likely that the gold illegally extracted from the Kayapó indigenous land ended up on the fingers of the Italian bride and groom.
Sought by Repórter Brasil, Guardia di Finanza, one of the police forces that deal with financial and economic issues in Italy, said that activities such as those described by the PF could give rise to some investigation by the Italian authorities. But for now, there is no analysis about it.
One of the difficulties for this type of investigation is the fact that Brazilian gold is “washed”, that is, “legalized” in Brazil before export. As there is a document that certifies that it is supposedly legal and licit metal, the problem becomes the responsibility of the Brazilian authorities, escaping the attribution of the Italian authorities.
