Deputy Finance Minister Chairs High-Level Signing to Tighten AML/CFT Oversight in Gold Sector
Deputy Minister for Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has chaired the signing of a major inter-agency agreement aimed at tightening anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) controls across Ghana’s gold sector.
The high-level signing ceremony, held at the Ministry of Finance, brought together heads of key regulatory, law enforcement and intelligence institutions. The agreement formalises a coordinated national response to financial crime risks in the gold industry, with particular focus on artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), as Ghana undergoes a critical mutual evaluation by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).
In his opening remarks, Mr. Ampem described the agreement as a decisive transition from policy deliberations to accountability and implementation. “Today marks a conscious shift from technical engagements to senior-level affirmation, consolidation and ownership of agreed reforms,” he said, adding that the participation of agency heads underscored a collective commitment to strengthening Ghana’s framework for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing in the gold sector.
The agreement builds on the Gold-sector AML/CFT/PF Joint Action Plan, which reflects more than a year of technical collaboration. It binds all signatory institutions—including the Bank of Ghana, the Financial Intelligence Centre, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), the Minerals Commission and the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC)—to sustained reforms across three core areas: legal and regulatory measures, law enforcement and financial intelligence, and enhanced due diligence and beneficial ownership transparency.
Mr. Ampem stressed that the agreement is intended to have lasting impact beyond the ongoing GIABA mutual evaluation. “We are jointly affirming that these reforms are nationally owned, institutionally embedded and designed to endure beyond the Mutual Evaluation,” he told senior officials and development partners present at the ceremony.
Key milestones supporting the agreement include the creation of a dedicated AML/CFT/PF Desk at GoldBod, the full implementation of ORC’s beneficial ownership sanctions regime—which has already resulted in penalties for non-compliant gold companies—and the commencement of API integration to enable real-time data sharing between ORC and GoldBod.
“This communiqué provides tangible evidence of inter-ministerial coordination and senior-level commitment, which are critical to international assessments of effectiveness,” Mr. Ampem noted. He added that the framework would also help manage financial crime risks in the gold sector while supporting revenue mobilisation, boosting investor confidence and strengthening overall economic governance.
The Deputy Minister reaffirmed the Ministry of Finance’s leadership role in the process, noting that the Mining and Industry Unit under the Real Sector Division has been tasked to provide structured oversight and ensure the sustainability of the reforms.
He also acknowledged the UK-Ghana Gold Programme for its technical support and facilitation of inter-agency cooperation, expressing confidence that the agreement “sends a strong and credible signal of Ghana’s resolve” to protect the integrity of its gold sector.
