内容摘要：May 21 is designated as International Tea Day by the United Nations, marking the significance and value of the drink globally, not just economically but culturally too.

May 21 is designated as International Tea Day by the United Nations, marking the significance and value of the drink globally, not just economically but culturally too.

On its website, BMG International claims that it is an “authorised distributor for numerous well-known brands, including Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Nokia, Realme, Oppo, Honor, JBL, gaming consoles, and many more”.According to a price list for Apple products provided to Al Jazeera, BMG International sells smartphones produced for use in India, China, Japan, and the Middle East.

“But most of the devices, if not all, are made in India”, the sales manager said.He said his company gets smartphones produced “for Arabic countries” directly from Apple and devices produced for other countries from affiliated companies.He said that receiving payments directly from Russia might be problematic because banks in Dubai “are now asking too many questions and can reject the payment”.

To get around this, he said, he uses intermediaries to accept payments on his behalf – to avoid problems with his bank.“We can introduce you to our partners in Moscow, you can send the payment to them in a Russian bank and they send money to us here,” he said.

“They will take a commission, of course.”

When directly approached by Al Jazeera, BMG refused to provide a comment.Al Jazeera infiltrates large gold-smuggling rings and reveals a giant money laundering scheme.

An investigation by Al Jazeera has revealed some of Southern Africa’s largest gold-smuggling operations, exposing how these gangs help criminals around the world launder billions of dollars while aiding governments in circumventing international sanctions.Gold Mafia, a four-part series by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (

) based on dozens of undercover operations spanning three continents, and thousands of documents, also shows how government officials and businesspeople are profiting off the illegal movement of gold across borders.The investigation reveals how billions of dollars’ worth of gold is smuggled every month from Zimbabwe to Dubai, allowing criminals to whitewash dirty money through a web of shell companies, fake invoices and paid-off officials.