In 2023 alone, Ghana failed to declare around 34 metric tons of gold—about the size of the country’s entire artisanal production—despite officially earning $11.6 billion from gold exports 

Smuggling Routes & Hub: UAE, via West African Borders

Smugglers typically traffic gold from Ghana through Togo, Burkina Faso, and Mali, often hand-carried in flight baggage to Dubai, where informal gold imports surge .

The problem reflects a larger African trend—AP and Reuters both note over $30 billion in smuggled gold left Africa in 2022, with the UAE receiving the lion’s share .

Policy and Tax Influences

In 2019, Ghana introduced a 3% withholding tax on artisanal gold exports, hoping to boost tax revenue. Instead, it drove traders underground—official exports plunged, while gold diversion and smuggling soared.

• The tax was reduced to 1.5% in 2022, leading to a partial rebound in declared exports, and then eliminated in early 2023; this shifted incentives back to formal trade, though it didn’t stop smuggling entirely.

 Ghana's Anti-Smuggling Measures

• Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson stated that in 2022, about 60 t of gold (approx. $1.2 billion) were smuggled out—highlighting how much was diverted during the country’s economic crisis.

• In response, Ghana has established the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod): equipped to buy about 3 tonnes of gold weekly, monitor hot-spots like Bole airport, collaborate with the Economic & Organised Crime Office (EOCO), eliminate withholding taxes, and work with international partners like the UK to formalize artisanal mining.

Why It Matters

• Gold smuggling erodes foreign exchange revenue, weakens government budgets, and undermines formal economic systems—not just in Ghana, but broadly across Africa .

• It fuels organized crime, potentially supports conflict financing, and worsens environmental damage linked to unregulated artisanal mining operations.