Ghana lost over $11 billion to gold smuggling in just five years, with most of it ending up in Dubai.
Ghana has lost an estimated $11.4 billion to gold smuggling over five years, much of it ending up in the United Arab Emirates, according to a Swissaid report. The nonprofit uncovered a 229 metric ton gap between declared exports and imports, linking the discrepancy to smuggled gold flowing through Togo, Burkina Faso, and Mali into Dubai.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Ulf Laessing of Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation. “Hand-carried gold does not have to be declared in Dubai.”
A Ghana Minerals Commission official described the findings as “a notorious fact.” A 3% withholding tax imposed in 2019 triggered a surge in smuggling; it was later reduced and scrapped in March 2024. While reforms have improved declared exports, an estimated 34 tons of 2023 gold output remained undeclared.
“While the new government has shown some willingness… its pace has been quite slow,” said Bright Simons of Imani Center for Policy and Education.