Ghana has lost an estimated $11.4 billion in gold revenue due to widespread smuggling in the artisanal mining sector, with much of the illicit gold reportedly ending up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to a report by Swiss nonprofit Swissaid.
The report, released on June 11, 2025, uncovered a trade gap of 229 metric tons between Ghana’s officially declared gold exports and the corresponding imports reported by trading partners over a five-year period. Most of the discrepancy points to Dubai as the destination for the smuggled gold.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation, in comments to Reuters. “Hand-carried gold does not have to be declared in Dubai … informal gold is mostly brought in on flights,” he added, underscoring the opaque nature of Africa’s gold trade.
Swissaid’s investigation further found that gold is often smuggled from Ghana through Togo before reaching Dubai. Other smuggling routes include Burkina Faso and Mali, taking advantage of porous West African borders.
A senior official at Ghana’s Minerals Commission described the findings as “a notorious fact.” However, Ghana’s Ministry of Finance has yet to comment publicly on the revelations.
The report also criticised a now-scrapped 3% withholding tax on artisanal gold exports introduced in 2019. It found the tax backfired, causing formal exports to plummet while smuggling surged. Although the rate was reduced to 1.5% in 2022 and finally abolished in March 2025, analysts say the reforms have not gone far enough.
Swissaid estimates that 34 metric tons of gold produced in 2023—roughly equal to Ghana’s total artisanal gold output for that year—went undeclared.
While Ghana earned $11.6 billion in gold revenue last year, experts warn that the broader system remains vulnerable. “The new government has shown some willingness to fix some governance issues that have bedevilled the gold sector for years… but its pace has been quite slow,” said Bright Simons of Accra-based think tank IMANI Center for Policy and Education.
Ghana’s case reflects a broader African trend where gold-exporting countries consistently underreport exports compared to figures from major importers like the UAE. Despite promises of tighter oversight from Dubai, reforms have so far produced limited impact.
Informal mining remains a vital source of income for over 10 million people across sub-Saharan Africa, but its growing links to organised crime and conflict are intensifying calls for regulation.
Source: Reuters
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