Ghana has lost over $11.4 billion in potential revenue from gold smuggling linked to its artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector over a five-year period, with the bulk of unrecorded exports flowing into the United Arab Emirates, according to a comprehensive investigation by Swiss NGO SWISSAID.
The report, titled “Unearthing the Truth: How Ghana Lost Billions to Gold Smuggling” and released on June 11, exposes a 229-tonne discrepancy between Ghana’s officially recorded gold exports and import figures reported by its trading partners, particularly the UAE. The data gap spans from 2019 to 2023, and raises serious concerns about the integrity of Ghana’s gold export system and the scale of illicit financial flows draining one of the country’s most valuable sectors.
According to the report, while Ghana officially exported 67.3 tonnes of gold to the UAE during the five-year period, UAE authorities declared 296.7 tonnes in imports from Ghana, revealing a 229.4-tonne shortfall. At current market values, the discrepancy translates to over $11.4 billion in lost value, not accounting for potential tax revenues.
The smuggled gold primarily originates from Ghana’s booming artisanal mining sector, which accounted for 34.7 tonnes of declared gold in 2023 but is believed to have produced at least an additional 34 tonnes that went undeclared. ASM currently represents over 40% of Ghana’s total gold output, but the government continues to rely on export figures from licensed aggregators as a proxy for production, leaving actual volumes produced in mining areas largely untracked.
Regulatory Blind Spots and Policy Failures
The report points to systemic weaknesses in Ghana’s regulatory environment. Gold smuggling is enabled by unmonitored production sites, weak border enforcement, and the informal nature of the ASM sector. Ghana does not measure gold at the point of production, relying instead on purchase records from licensed buying companies, many of which fail to operate transparently.
Ghana’s 2019 decision to impose a 3% withholding tax on artisanal gold exports sharply worsened the problem. Declared ASM exports plummeted as miners and buyers turned to smuggling routes to avoid taxation. Though the government cut the tax to 1.5% in 2022 and eliminated it entirely in 2025, the damage was already done. Smuggling networks had been entrenched, and the formalisation of the sector had suffered a major setback.
The gold is typically smuggled out of Ghana through neighboring countries such as Togo and Burkina Faso before being flown to Dubai, where customs checks for hand-carried gold are minimal. This practice, combined with lax enforcement on Ghana’s side and limited scrutiny in Dubai, allows tonnes of gold to move undetected and untaxed.
Environmental and Economic Fallout
Beyond revenue loss, the report outlines the environmental toll of unregulated gold mining. Mercury pollution, deforestation, river contamination, and land degradation have become widespread in mining regions. Agricultural productivity, particularly cocoa farming, has declined in affected areas as galamsey (illegal small-scale mining) operations destroy arable land and poison water sources.
Despite the scale of the crisis, formalisation of ASM remains limited. An estimated 200,000 to 1 million miners work without licences. Licensing processes are bureaucratic and costly, driving many miners into informal networks where there is little to no oversight. The report also cites the involvement of foreign nationals, particularly Chinese operators, who have used Ghanaian front companies to run illegal mining operations, often with political or military protection.
Slow Progress on Reform
While Ghana has taken some steps toward reform, progress remains sluggish. The 2025 establishment of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), which is now tasked with regulating all artisanal gold exports, is the government’s most significant move to date. The board has been mandated to centralise ASM gold trade and eliminate the role of private aggregators, but its impact is yet to be fully realised.
The Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, launched in 2021 to shore up reserves and reduce FX demand, has also come under scrutiny. The programme has struggled with sourcing transparency and has not significantly curbed illicit trade.
The report also notes the limited effectiveness of regulatory tightening in the UAE. Although Dubai has pledged to improve due diligence on gold imports, the scale of unreported inflows suggests that enforcement remains weak.
Wider Regional Implications
Ghana’s experience is emblematic of a broader problem across the continent. Similar trade gaps between African exporters and UAE import data have been reported in countries including Mali, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. In many cases, artisanal mining has become a financial engine for organised crime, money laundering, and, in conflict zones, insurgent financing.
According to a May 2024 UN report, more than 10 million people across sub-Saharan Africa depend on informal mining for their livelihoods, but the sector is increasingly exploited by illicit networks. The absence of oversight not only drains national treasuries but also undermines peace and stability in vulnerable regions.
What’s at Stake
Ghana earned $11.6 billion from gold exports in 2023, making the metal its single largest export. However, with nearly half of artisanal output leaving the country unrecorded and untaxed, the state continues to miss a crucial opportunity to maximise revenue and invest in critical public services.
The SWISSAID report urges a comprehensive rethinking of how artisanal mining is governed, including greater transparency in export records, better oversight of trading hubs, and investment in local certification and traceability systems. Without such reforms, Ghana’s gold boom risks becoming a prolonged economic drain, feeding external markets while destabilising its own.
