The Ghanaian government is taking an aggressive stance against gold smuggling by offering whistleblowers a hefty 10% share of the value of recovered gold.
The initiative, announced by the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), aims to curb the billions of dollars lost annually through illegal gold exports.
Sammy Gyamfi, Acting Managing Director of PMMC, made the declaration at a stakeholder meeting in Bolgatanga, where traditional leaders, small-scale miners, civil society groups, and state agencies gathered to discuss the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).
Gyamfi encouraged citizens to become “GoldBod Whistleblowers,” reporting gold smugglers through designated hotlines. “If we seize one tonne of gold worth $93 million, the informer gets 10%—that’s $9.3 million,” he said. “That alone can be your business.”
The plan is part of the government’s strategy to regain control over the nation’s gold sector, which has been plagued by smuggling. In 2022 alone, 60 tonnes of gold worth $1.2 billion were smuggled out of Ghana.
By 2024, an estimated $10 billion in gold from small-scale mining had been illegally exported—double the value of legally exported gold.
GoldBod, initiated under the John Dramani Mahama administration, will be the sole buyer of gold from small-scale miners, replacing PMMC.
A pending bill in Parliament seeks to grant it full authority to regulate gold trade, enforce tax compliance, and prevent smuggling.
To enforce these measures, GoldBod will deploy a special security taskforce equipped with bulletproof vests, body cameras, and GPS-tracked vehicles.
“We will monitor them to ensure they do not abuse their power or extort innocent people,” Gyamfi assured stakeholders.
With full backing from President Mahama, the crackdown on gold smuggling will be relentless. “The day you are caught, you will lose all your money and go to jail,” Gyamfi warned.
As Ghana fights to maximize its gold revenue and stabilize its currency, this new whistleblower incentive could be a game-changer in eliminating illegal gold trade.