The information gathered from reports suggests Ghana loses billions of dollars in revenue annually to smuggling in the artisanal gold mining sector.
According to the reports, the majority of the gold smuggled is linked to the United Arab Emirates.
Reports suggest a staggering 229 metric tons trade gap, equivalent to $11.4 billion, between Ghana’s gold exports and corresponding imports over just five years, with most of the smuggled gold ending up in Dubai.
According to the Swissaid report, Ghana’s gold is largely smuggled to Togo before ending up in Dubai with some passing through Burkina Faso into Mali, using porous borders.
Ghana’s regulatory Minerals Commission senior official described Swissaid’s findings as a notorious fact.
Bright Simons of Accra-based think tank Imani Center for Policy and Education has stated, “While the new government has shown some willingness to fix some governance issues that have bedeviled the gold sector for years, and which were largely ignored by the previous administration, its pace has been quite slow”.
The Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to curbing gold smuggling and ensuring that Ghana fully benefits from its rich gold resources.
He revealed that at the height of Ghana’s economic crisis in 2022, a staggering 60 tonnes of gold, valued at an estimated $1.2 billion, were smuggled out of the country through illegal channels.
He stressed that GoldBod will also work closely with the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) to enhance pricing mechanisms, introduce pre-financing options for small-scale miners, encourage whistleblower reports on smuggling activities, and adopt responsible sourcing practices that align with the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certification.
Meanwhile, three Indian nationals have been arrested by the Goldbod security taskforce for suspected gold smuggling.
The three, Goutam Katriya, 35, Miraj Sarvaych, 22, and Manash Damani, 42 are reportedly involved in gold trading operations in Kumasi and Accra on behalf of Unique MM, a company allegedly owned by one Musah Salifu.
The three were arrested at a private residence near Atinga Junction in Kumasi following a tip-off from a whistleblower.
