"It is noteworthy how little concerted political will there has been to halt the illicit flow of profits from the exploitation of gold resources in Africa into the Russian war machine," the World Gold Council report says.
Air France suspended flights over the Red Sea after a crew reported seeing a "luminous object" at high altitude near Sudan.
Leading western banks JPMorgan Chase and HSBC reportedly unwittingly processed payments for companies linked to Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late leader of the Wagner Group Private Military Company.
Serbia claims military neutrality and appears to be indiscriminate about where its arms end up.
Countries and areas in sub-Saharan Africa are projected to see their populations increase by 79% over the next 30 years, reaching 2.2bn people by 2054, according to the UN.