Almost every documented failure in Uganda's gold chain — undeclared exports, mis-stated origin, advance-fee frauds against foreign buyers — runs through the dealer layer rather than through the mines. Dealer licences are cheap to obtain relative to the value moved, and enforcement has historically been reactive.

The Bulletin tracks named companies as investigations become matters of public record, and does not publish allegations that have not reached that threshold.

Between the pit and the refinery sits a trade of licensed dealers, unlicensed middlemen and export agents, most of them operating from a handful of Kampala streets. Gold changes hands several times, often for cash, before any document is created — which is precisely why origin claims at export are difficult to test.

Dealer licences are cheap relative to the value moved, and the register of who currently holds one is not routinely published.

Prosecutions and court filings involving export fraud, revocations of dealer licences, and whether declared export volumes reconcile with declared refinery feed and mine production. Where the arithmetic does not close, we report the gap rather than name unproven parties.