Almost four years after releasing an explosive documentary titled 'Anatomy of a Bribe', in which it exposed large-scale looting of Namibia's fishing resources by senior government officials, among others, Al Jazeera's focus has now shifted to Zimbabwe.

The Qatari-owned news channel recently dropped a bombshell with the first episode of the docu-series, entitled 'The Gold Mafia', in which a presidential envoy is implicated in the alleged laundering of millions of US dollars using gold.

Gold Mafia is a four-part series by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit.

It is based on dozens of undercover operations spanning three continents, thousands of documents, and work put in by journalists for over a year.

It depicts senior government officials and business people allegedly profiting from the illegal movement of gold across borders.

Al Jazeera reporters, posing as Chinese businessmen, assumed character and gained the trust of Zimbabwe's Ambassador at Large, Uebert Angel.

Activists in Zimbabwe say the documentary scandalized the country's entire gold industry.

Zimbabwe is slapped with hordes of sanctions by the west, and the country is in dire need of the US dollar.

But according to Al Jazeera's revelations, dirty money returning to Zimbabwe benefits an elite few and allows them to bypass the intended effects of any sanctions.

In 2019, the Unit's documentary 'Anatomy of a Bribe' shocked Namibia.

Though Namibian media has over the years reported on alleged looting and money laundering in the fishing sector, it was only after the damning documentary that authorities started paying attention to these allegations.

'Anatomy of a Bribe' showed how foreign fishing companies plunder Namibian natural resources.

In the one-hour documentary, Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit targeted Icelandic fishing giant Samherji, which is accused of bribing officials to ensure access to the country's fishing resources.

Using confidential documents provided to Wikileaks by whistleblower Johannes Stafanson, the documentary exposed government ministers and public officials allegedly willing to sell off Namibia's assets in return for millions of dollars in bribes.

The Namibian courts have ruled that the incriminating investigative documentary will not be used as evidence in the ongoing Fishrot trial, which is scheduled to start in October this year.

The two most senior officials in the Fishort debacle are former ministers Sackey Shanghala and Bernhard Esau.