A recent report by Swissaid reveals that Ghana is hemorrhaging billions of dollars in revenue annually due to widespread gold smuggling from its burgeoning artisanal mining sector, with a significant portion of the illicit bullion ultimately ending up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The report, released on June 11, 2025, meticulously uncovered a staggering 229-metric ton trade gap, valued at $11.4 billion, between Ghana’s officially declared gold exports and the corresponding imports recorded by its trading partners over a five-year period. A substantial amount of this undeclared gold was traced directly to Dubai, where it is believed to be entering the country informally via hand luggage and undeclared air cargo.
The head of the Sahel Programme at Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation, an expert in artisanal mining and regional insurgencies, commented on the findings, stating, “This is just the tip of the iceberg. Hand-carried gold does not have to be declared in Dubai. Informal gold is mostly brought in on flights.”
The report further detailed how smuggled gold frequently transits through neighboring countries such as Togo, Burkina Faso, and Mali, exploiting porous borders before reaching its final destination in the UAE. A senior official from Ghana’s Minerals Commission acknowledged the severity of the issue, describing the report’s findings as a “notorious fact.” Despite persistent concerns over these significant revenue losses, Ghana’s Ministry of Finance did not respond to requests for comment regarding the report.
Swissaid’s findings also shed light on the unintended consequences of Ghana’s past tax policies. A 3 percent withholding tax introduced in 2019, aimed at formalizing and regulating artisanal gold exports, ironically led to a collapse in declared exports and a sharp increase in smuggling. While the government reduced the tax to 1.5 percent in 2022, prompting a modest recovery, it was the complete scrapping of the tax in March 2024, by then Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, that has been credited with a notable surge in official artisanal gold exports this year.
Despite recent policy changes, the report estimates that approximately 34 metric tons of Ghana’s 2023 gold output went undeclared, a figure roughly equivalent to the total amount of officially recorded artisanal production for that year.
Source: http://thepressradio.com
