Ghana Loses $11 Billion in Gold Smuggling Linked to UAE
Ghana is losing billions of dollars each year due to gold smuggling from its thriving artisanal mining sector, with much of the unaccounted gold reportedly flowing to the United Arab Emirates, according to a new report by the nonprofit Swissaid.
The report uncovered a massive 229-metric-ton discrepancy, worth approximately $11.4 billion, between Ghana’s recorded gold exports and the corresponding import data over five years, with Dubai emerging as the primary destination for the smuggled gold.
Ghana proudly recognized as Africa’s top gold exporter, has reaped substantial economic benefits from the sector, but not without controversy. Illegal mining, locally known as galamsey, and rampant gold smuggling continue to undermine formal revenues.
According to the report, Ghana is losing billions of dollars annually to gold smuggling, with most of the unreported bullion ending up in Dubai.
The report further highlights how much of the country’s artisanal gold is smuggled through neighbouring Togo before reaching the UAE, while other routes pass through Burkina Faso and Mali via porous borders
Swissaid revealed a 229-metric-ton gap, valued at roughly $11.4 billion, between Ghana’s declared gold exports and corresponding import data over five years.
The report also noted that a 3% withholding tax introduced in 2019 on artisanal gold exports backfired, causing formal exports to collapse and smuggling to surge.
The government cut the tax to 1.5% in 2022, prompting a modest rebound in declared exports. In March 2024, the finance minister scrapped the tax altogether and later credited policy reforms for a rise in artisanal exports this year.
Still, about 34 metric tons of gold output in 2023 went undeclared, nearly equal to the country’s officially recorded artisanal production for the same year.
The situation in Ghana mirrors a continent-wide pattern in which African gold-exporting nations report far lower export volumes than what importers, particularly the UAE, declare.
A 2019 Reuters investigation uncovered a $3.9 billion discrepancy between the gold 21 African countries officially exported and what the UAE claimed to have imported from them.
Between 2012 and 2022, the UAE is estimated to have imported 2,569 tonnes of undeclared gold from African countries, worth more than $115.3 billion.
Despite reforms introduced by Dubai to combat gold smuggling, results have been limited.
