Russian gold is now flooding the UAE, Turkey and Hong Kong after facing sanctions in the West

• Russian gold is heading to obscure buyers and merchants across Hong Kong, Turkey, and the UAE.
• Key Western companies have turned away from Russian bullion amid sanctions. 
• More than $500 million in Russian gold was exported to the UAE in the six months through August.

Western buyers have shunned Russian gold since Moscow invaded Ukraine, shifting the bullion market and leaving sellers to turn to buyers across the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and Turkey.

Group of Seven nations and the European Union banned Russian gold imports last year and prevented companies based in those countries from trading it.

And given that Russia alone can't absorb the $20 billion of gold it mines per year, smaller players have since moved to plug the gaps that were once filled by buyers like JPMorgan and HSBC.