内容摘要：Under Washington’s sanctions regime, companies registered anywhere in the world are at risk of being blacklisted if they are deemed to be helping Russia evade sanctions.

Under Washington’s sanctions regime, companies registered anywhere in the world are at risk of being blacklisted if they are deemed to be helping Russia evade sanctions.

Instead, Pattni, Macmillan and Matthias have a well-oiled money laundering mechanism in place. They told Al Jazeera’s undercover reporters to set up shell companies in Dubai that would serve as a front for gold trade. The legitimate money earned from the sale of Zimbabwean gold in the emirate would be transferred to the bank accounts of these shell firms. And the smugglers would instead carry the dirty cash back with them to Harare, where they would deposit it with the central bank.“So, it’s very clean that way,” said Mathias, Macmillan’s partner.

When asked about the findings of Al Jazeera’s investigations, Pattni said no allegation of criminal wrongdoing had been upheld against him in Kenya. He denied involvement in any kind of money laundering, as well as employing anyone to smuggle cash or offering to deal with funds he knew originated from illegal sources. He said that when he met with our undercover team, he thought he was meeting with an investor who wanted to sell a stake in hotel businesses and “to divest of a portfolio in China into gold buying and mining in Zimbabwe”.Alistair Mathias denied that he designed mechanisms to launder money and said that he had never laundered money or traded illegal gold. He told us he had never had any working relationship with Ewan Macmillan.Rudland told Al Jazeera that all allegations against him were false and formed part of a smear campaign by an unidentified third party. He described himself as “a strong businessman … competing against the greedy and the envious”. He denied any involvement in the sale of illicit cigarettes, in gold or other smuggling and in sanctions busting.

Gold Leaf Tobacco, Rudland’s company, said that it emphatically denied any involvement, past or present, in money laundering, the trade in illegal gold or related matters.The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe told Al Jazeera that it takes the issues of money laundering and illicit trade very seriously and will not participate, directly or indirectly, in such activities.

Mnangagwa, Macmillan, Angel, Doolan, Rushwaya and other parties featured in this article did not respond to Al Jazeera’s inquiries.

Over the course of the coming weeks, the Gold Mafia series will reveal more on these characters, how they work and how they are using one of the world’s most-wanted commodities – gold – to enrich themselves, while impoverishing a nation.“Reducing the number of flights scheduled at Newark will help ensure that we can safely and reliably operate the flights that remain on the schedule, which is why we proactively reduced our schedule earlier this month,” a spokesperson for United Airlines told Al Jazeera in an emailed statement.

United serves 76 US destinations and 81 international destinations from Newark. The airline told Al Jazeera that the affected flights are primarily to cities that already have a high frequency of service, such as Orlando and Las Vegas.United said that customers can be easily re-accommodated on other flights, and that flyers who typically transit through Newark can use alternative hubs like Washington Dulles.

Despite the cutbacks, United is launching new service to 10 destinations this summer, including two flights that have launched in the last week.For those travelling to, from or through New York, there are alternatives. The city is also served by LaGuardia airport – primarily a domestic hub for American and Delta – and John F Kennedy international airport, a major base for American, Delta and JetBlue airlines.