A dedicated anti-smuggling taskforce set up by the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) has significantly reduced illegal gold trading across the country, strengthening foreign exchange inflows and improving oversight in Ghana’s gold sector.

According to GOLDBOD’s 2025 audited financial report, the intervention has curtailed gold smuggling and helped channel artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) exports through formal systems. The Board noted that nearly all ASM gold exports are now routed through official export channels, ensuring full repatriation of foreign exchange earnings.

The development marks a major shift in a sector long plagued by illicit trade, under-declaration and informal export routes that deprived the state of critical revenue. GOLDBOD officials indicated that the taskforce forms part of broader reforms to formalise the ASM sector, enhance traceability and restore regulatory control over domestic gold trading.

The report highlights improved compliance among licensed operators, alongside increased difficulty for illegal traders to operate outside the formal system. In 2025, GoldBod allocated GH₵14.29 million to taskforce operations, making it the institution’s largest specialised expenditure item for the year.

Officials say the investment underscores enforcement as a central pillar of GOLDBOD’s strategy to sanitise the gold trading ecosystem. Beyond enforcement, the initiative has also contributed to stronger export performance and macroeconomic stability.

Ghana recorded approximately US$20 billion in gold exports in 2025, nearly doubling the US$10.3 billion recorded in 2024. ASM exports alone reached 104 metric tonnes, valued at US$10.8 billion, with GoldBod attributing the surge to tighter monitoring systems, licensing reforms and sustained anti-smuggling efforts.

GOLDBOD maintains that the success of the taskforce demonstrates the importance of pairing sector formalisation with robust enforcement mechanisms to safeguard national revenue and protect Ghana’s mineral resources.