Ghana is haemorrhaging billions of dollars annually through rampant gold smuggling, with much of the illicit trade flowing to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to a damning new report by Swiss nonprofit Swissaid.
The study exposes a staggering 229-ton trade gap worth $11.4 billion between Ghana's recorded gold exports and UAE import data over just five years, revealing a vast underground pipeline of smuggled bullion.
Reuters reports that investigators found most of Ghana's smuggled gold first moves to Togo before being shipped to Dubai, while smaller quantities transit through Burkina Faso into Mali, exploiting weak border controls.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg," said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
"Hand-carried gold does not have to be declared in Dubai ... informal gold is mostly brought in on flights."
A senior official at Ghana's Minerals Commission acknowledged the findings as "a notorious fact," while the Finance Ministry declined to comment.
The report highlights how Ghana's attempt to tax small-scale gold exports backfired dramatically. When the government implemented a 3% withholding tax in 2019, formal exports collapsed as smuggling surged.
After reducing the rate to 1.5% in 2022, authorities saw a partial recovery in legal exports.
The tax was scrapped entirely in March 2024, resulting in a sharp rise in declared shipments. Despite these measures, an estimated 34 tons of gold - equivalent to Ghana's entire 2023 artisanal production - went undeclared last year.
Ghana earned $11.6 billion from official gold exports in 2023 and has pledged reforms to clean up the trade, but progress remains sluggish.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor-In-Chief, Rough & Polished
