Rockfire Pulls Out of Plan to Buy Emirates Gold on UK Sanctions

London-listed Rockfire Resources Plc said it pulled out of an agreement to purchase Dubai precious metals refinery Emirates Gold as it couldn’t do so without breaching UK sanctions.

The mining explorer said it terminated the deal after seeking legal advice following Britain’s sanctioning of gold trader Paloma Precious DMCC due to dealings in Russian gold. The United Arab Emirates-based firm, which owns Emirates Gold, was part of a network that channeled $300 million of gold revenues to Russia, the UK said on Wednesday.

“Following the sanctions, Rockfire immediately sought legal advice from the company’s lawyers,” the firm said in a ...