According to a report published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Venezuelan gold was funnelled through the Caribbean island of Curaçao before being refined in Switzerland between 2012 and 2018.

It states that some of the gold processed by Argor-Heraeus may have originated from mines where human rights abuses have occurred.

The report says that global tech giants including Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia, allegedly bought this gold from Argor-Heraeus, "raising questions about how much mined Venezuelan gold from conflicted-affected areas may have found its way into everyday products like mobile phones, laptops, and electric vehicles".

We invited the companies mentioned by the report to respond to the allegations. Argor-Heraeus' response is available. Apple, Tesla and Nvidia did not respond.