GoldBod recovers ¢3m from illegal gold trade

The Ghana GoldBod nationwide purge of illegal gold trading has led to the recovery of GH¢3,036,990.00 in cash.

This was contained in GoldBod’s 2025 third-quarter report.

The intensified crackdown also led to the retrieval of along with foreign currencies including US dollars, CFA francs, and Moroccan dirhams.

Officials also confiscated items such as gold doré, gold dust, mercury, firearms, mobile phones, and forged documents – materials often linked to unregulated gold-trading networks.

Investigations have uncovered the involvement of foreign nationals from the United States, Morocco, and Burkina Faso, raising concerns about increasing cross-border participation in illegal mining and gold smuggling operations.

The Board says it is also probing whether some Tier 2 licensees may have facilitated or abused their licences to support unlicensed operators.

GoldBod’s Legal Directorate is currently pursuing 20 active cases involving individuals and entities accused of operating without valid trading licences.

A breakdown of the ongoing cases includes 10 cases under investigation, six suspects granted bail, one suspect granted court bail and one case pending trial. The rest are on case under police enquiry and other suspect deported.

The statutory report also posted strong gains in gold aggregation, exports, reserve buildup and regulatory enforcement covering July to September 2025.

The Board aggregated 26,153.98 kilograms of gold from the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining sector valued at US$2.76 billion as part of efforts to formalise and streamline the ASM value chain.

GoldBod also advanced Ghana’s reserve strategy by procuring 119.78 kilograms of gold from large-scale mining firms for the Bank of Ghana.

The reserve purchase, worth US$11.82 million, forms part of the central bank’s ongoing policy to deepen the nation’s gold-backed reserves.

Gold exports posted another strong quarter.

ASM operations exported 25,780.60kg, valued at US$2.71 billion while LSM producers exported 24,911.21kg, valued at US$2.43 billion

On sector regulation, GoldBod said it processed 577 licences under its new tiered regime designed to tighten compliance and simplify entry for legitimate operators.

These included, 432 Tier 2 licences, 123 Tier 1 licences and 22 approvals for self-financed aggregators

The Board also issued two licence suspensions and one revocation, reinforcing its commitment to sanitising the gold trading ecosystem and promoting responsible mining practices.