Illegal Gold in Colombia Now Rivals Coffee at US$3.5 Billion

Economy: Bogotá Key Facts —Scale. A Universidad EAFIT study estimates Colombia’s illegal gold economy moves about US$3.5 billion a year and generates roughly US$3 billion in added value, about 0.8% of GDP. —Comparison. That size is comparable to Colombia’s coffee exports and equal to about a third of the cocaine economy, the researchers say. —Laundering.…