History
The company was founded in Switzerland in 1979 by an Iraqi gold trader Mahmoud Kassem Shakarchi, hence the name MKS. [4] His son and daughter jointly took over the running of the company in 1983, since when the company has expanded to have staff located in 15 offices in 12 countries around the world.
MKS bought PAMP SA in 1981, [4] and began to supply gold bars to jewelers, high street banks, investments banks and central banks. As a trading house the company's clients include organizations in the financial services industry, such as banks and fund managers, commodities processors such as gold miners and jewellery manufacturers. MKS subsidiary PAMP SA (Produits Artistiques Metaux Precieux), based in Castel San Pietro in the Swiss canton of Ticino, is a refinery processing gold, silver, platinum and palladium. [5] The refinery produces bars, coins and medallions from the precious metals it refines as well as providing semi-finished products to jewellers and watch manufacturers. It counts Harrods among its retail partners, which offers PAMP's minted products to its customers at its bank in its London flagship store. [6] [7] In November 2025, MKS PAMP acquired full ownership of Gold Token S.A., aiming to relaunch a tokenized digital gold product (DGLD) on blockchain platforms like Ethereum. This move is part of a strategy to lead in the tokenization of real-world assets. [8]
MKS is often quoted as a gold trading expert in the media. [1] Financial media such as Bloomberg, [9] Businessweek , [10] Financial Times , [11] Reuters [12] and the San Francisco Chronicle [13] have quoted them.
Controversies and allegations
Allegations of Bribery Involving U.S. Officials
In 2025, a meeting between Swiss business executives and U.S. President Donald Trump sparked a legal and ethical debate. MKS PAMP's CEO presented Trump with an engraved gold bar, while another executive gifted a Rolex desk clock, during discussions that preceded a U.S.-Swiss tariff agreement. [14] Swiss legal experts noted that Article 322 of the Swiss Criminal Code forbids offering "an undue advantage" to a foreign official to influence official actions. They argued that expensive gifts could be considered an "undue advantage," and that a change in tariff policy could constitute a quid pro quo . [14] MKS PAMP stated the gifts were intended for the Presidential Library and were cleared with White House ethics counsel, asserting full compliance with U.S. and Swiss law. Two Green Party Swiss parliamentarians called for an investigation by the Swiss Attorney-General's office. The Swiss government stated the meeting was a "private initiative". [14] [15] [16]
Environmental and Human Rights Concerns in Supply Chain
Between 2015 and 2016, gold from Liberia's New Liberty Mine, which experienced significant pollution events (including releases of cyanide and arsenic that contaminated waterways), [17] was shipped to MKS PAMP's refinery in Switzerland. [18] Affected communities reported health issues and filed a complaint with European development banks, leading to a formal mediation process. [18] [19]
In 2022, the Swiss Federal Court ruled against an NGO, the Society for Threatened Peoples, which sought import data from Swiss refiners including MKS PAMP. The Court upheld that such data was protected by tax and business secrecy laws. NGOs criticized the ruling as a setback for supply chain transparency. [20]
Human Rights Allegations in Burkina Faso
An independent investigation published by CareTaker News Now in 2025 alleged that subcontractors operating in supply chains feeding gold to MKS PAMP in Burkina Faso were linked to violence, including killings and land-grabbing, to control artisanal mining sites. [21]
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