Apple and others may have bought gold from illegal companies

The creation of modern electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets, notebooks and PCs, requires various natural resources, such as gold and copper. Obviously these are precious materials, which must be legally acquired by companies to build their products.

Last Monday, the Brazilian portal Repórter Brasil published an article claiming that large companies, such as Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon have purchased gold illegally extracted from Brazilian indigenous land located in the Amazon rainforest (banned in Brazil, as it causes deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and contamination of rivers with mercury, as well as funds organized crime ), intended for smartphones and computers of Apple and Microsoft, as well as servers of Google and Amazon.

Apparently, the big techs bought the material from the Chimet and Marsam refineries between 2020 and 2021, both subject investigation by the Brazilian Federal Police for the illegal extraction of natural resources, as well as several allegations relating to environmental damage. However, at the moment they are regularly certified in the United States and Europe.

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The United States government has not yet commented on the matter, while The London Bullion Market Association has declared that it is aware of the investigations underway in Brazil and is re-evaluating the certification of the two companies.