Latest news with #Swissaid
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ghana lost $11bn due to gold smuggling
Ghana's gold sector has revealed a substantial trade gap that has led to an estimated loss of $11bn (112.99bn cedis) due to smuggling activities, reported Reuters, citing a Swissaid report. Most of the smuggled gold is believed to be flowing into the United Arab Emirates (UAE), particularly Dubai. The report uncovered a 229 tonne (t) trade gap in Ghana's gold exports between 2019 and 2023, amounting to $11.4bn. This discrepancy highlights the challenges faced by the country's artisanal gold mining sector and the impact on revenue. Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, commented on the issue, stating that gold carried by hand does not need to be declared in Dubai, which contributes to the smuggling problem. According to the report, Ghanaian gold is often smuggled to Togo before reaching Dubai, while some also passes through Burkina Faso into Mali. A senior official at Ghana's Minerals Commission acknowledged the findings as "a notorious fact". The Ghanaian Finance Ministry has yet to respond to the report. The Swissaid report also criticised a 3% withholding tax on artisanal gold exports introduced in 2019, which led to a decline in declared exports and a rise in smuggling. The subsequent reduction of the tax to 1.5% in 2022 and its elimination in March 2023 by the finance minister have resulted in a partial reversal of this trend and an increase in artisanal exports. The report estimates that 34t of Ghana's 2023 gold production went undeclared, roughly equivalent to the total recorded artisanal production for the year. Additionally, the Ghanaian Government is aiming to double output from small-scale and artisanal mining operations, anticipating annual revenues of 139.41bn cedis from this sector. "Ghana lost $11bn due to gold smuggling – Swissaid report" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Ghana loses $11 billion in gold smuggling linked to UAE
Ghana is losing billions of dollars each year due to gold smuggling from its thriving artisanal mining sector, with much of the unaccounted gold reportedly flowing to the United Arab Emirates. Ghana faces significant financial losses due to the smuggling of gold from its artisanal mining sector, primarily to the United Arab Emirates. Swissaid reported a 229-metric-ton discrepancy translating to $11.4 billion between Ghana's declared gold exports and import data over five years. Illegal mining and gold smuggling, often through neighboring countries like Togo and Burkina Faso, undermine Ghana's formal revenues. Ghana is losing billions of dollars each year due to gold smuggling from its thriving artisanal mining sector, with much of the unaccounted gold reportedly flowing to the United Arab Emirates, according to a new report by the nonprofit Swissaid. The report uncovered a massive 229-metric-ton discrepancy, worth approximately $11.4 billion, between Ghana's recorded gold exports and the corresponding import data over five years, with Dubai emerging as the primary destination for the smuggled gold. Ghana proudly recognized as Africa's top gold exporter, has reaped substantial economic benefits from the sector, but not without controversy. Illegal mining, locally known as galamsey, and rampant gold smuggling continue to undermine formal revenues. Smuggling routes According to the report, Ghana is losing billions of dollars annually to gold smuggling, with most of the unreported bullion ending up in Dubai. The report further highlights how much of the country's artisanal gold is smuggled through neighbouring Togo before reaching the UAE, while other routes pass through Burkina Faso and Mali via porous borders Swissaid revealed a 229-metric-ton gap, valued at roughly $11.4 billion, between Ghana's declared gold exports and corresponding import data over five years. The report also noted that a 3% withholding tax introduced in 2019 on artisanal gold exports backfired, causing formal exports to collapse and smuggling to surge. DON'T MISS THIS: Top 10 African country with the highest foreign exchange and gold reserves in 2025 The government cut the tax to 1.5% in 2022, prompting a modest rebound in declared exports. In March 2024, the finance minister scrapped the tax altogether and later credited policy reforms for a rise in artisanal exports this year. Still, about 34 metric tons of gold output in 2023 went undeclared, nearly equal to the country's officially recorded artisanal production for the same year. The situation in Ghana mirrors a continent-wide pattern in which African gold-exporting nations report far lower export volumes than what importers, particularly the UAE, declare. ] A 2019 Reuters investigation uncovered a $3.9 billion discrepancy between the gold 21 African countries officially exported and what the UAE claimed to have imported from them. Between 2012 and 2022, the UAE is estimated to have imported 2,569 tonnes of undeclared gold from African countries, worth more than $115.3 billion.
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Ghana has lost $11 billion to gold smuggling, links to UAE, report finds
DAKAR, June 16 (Reuters) - Ghana is losing billions of dollars in revenue annually to smuggling from its booming artisanal gold mining sector with much of the gold flowing to the United Arab Emirates, according to a report by nonprofit Swissaid. The report found a staggering 229 metric ton trade gap, equivalent to $11.4 billion, between Ghana's gold exports and corresponding imports over just five years, with most of the smuggled gold ending up in Dubai. "This is just the tip of the iceberg," said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation, who analyses insurgency and artisanal mining operations in the region. "Hand-carried gold does not have to be declared in Dubai ... informal gold is mostly brought in on flights," highlighting other opaque ways Africa's gold is smuggled into the UAE. The Swissaid report said Ghana's gold is largely smuggled to Togo before ending up in Dubai while some bullion passes through Burkina Faso into Mali, using porous borders. A senior official at Ghana's regulatory Minerals Commission described Swissaid's findings as "a notorious fact". Ghana's finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The report noted how a 3% withholding tax on artisanal gold exports imposed by Africa's top gold producer in 2019 backfired dramatically, as declared exports collapsed while smuggling surged. The government's reduction of the tax to 1.5% in 2022 partially reversed the trend, with formal exports rebounding. In March, Ghana's finance minister scrapped the tax, subsequently praising policy reforms for a surge in artisanal exports this year. An estimated 34 tons of the country's 2023 gold output were undeclared – approximately the same amount recorded as the country's total artisanal production for that year, according to the Swissaid report released on June 11. Ghana earned $11.6 billion in revenue from gold exports last year and has stepped up reforms to centralise and clean up the trade. Its experience mirrors a continent-wide pattern where Africa's gold-producing nations consistently report lower exports than what importing countries, particularly the UAE, declare as receipts. Reforms, opens new tab by Dubai to curb gold smuggling have yielded limited results. Informal mining provides livelihoods for over 10 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a May UN report, but increasingly it serves as a funding channel for organised crime and armed conflict. "While the new government has shown some willingness to fix some governance issues that have bedeviled the gold sector for years, and which were largely ignored by the previous administration, its pace has been quite slow," said Bright Simons of Accra-based think tank Imani Center for Policy and Education.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sudan's booming wartime gold trade flows through the UAE
Sudan's gold industry has become the lifeblood of its war, with nearly all of the trade channelled through the United Arab Emirates, enriching both the army and paramilitaries, according to official and NGO sources. The two-year conflict has decimated Sudan's economy, yet last month the army-backed government announced record gold production in 2024. Demand for the country's vast gold reserves was "a key factor in prolonging the war," Sudanese economist Abdelazim al-Amawy told AFP. "To solve the war in Sudan, we have to follow the gold, and we arrive at the UAE," said Marc Ummel, a researcher with development organisation Swissaid who tracks African gold smuggling to the Gulf country. In a statement to AFP, a UAE official rejected "any baseless and unfounded allegation regarding the smuggling or profiting of gold". But according to Sudanese officials, mining industry sources and Swissaid's research, nearly all of Sudan's gold flows to the UAE, via official trade routes, smuggling and direct Emirati ownership of the government's currently most lucrative mine. In February, the state-owned Sudan Mineral Resources Company said gold production reached 64 tonnes in 2024, up from 41.8 tonnes in 2022. Legal exports brought $1.57 billion into the state's depleted coffers, central bank figures show. But "nearly half of the state's production is smuggled across borders," SMRC director Mohammed Taher told AFP from Port Sudan. Nearly 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) away, on Sudan's borders with South Sudan and the Central African Republic, lie the mines controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Much of the gold produced by both sides is smuggled to Chad, South Sudan and Egypt, before reaching the UAE, according to mining industry sources and experts. - Emirati assets - This month, Sudan filed a case with the International Court of Justice, accusing the UAE of complicity in genocide committed by the RSF in Darfur. Abu Dhabi, which has repeatedly denied accusations of funnelling weapons to the RSF, has called the case a "publicity stunt" and said it would seek to have it thrown out. But the UAE has also played a major role in the government's wartime gold rush, indirectly helping to fund its war effort. According to Taher, 90 percent of the state's legal exports of gold go to the UAE, though the government is eyeing alternatives, including Qatar and Turkey. In the heart of army territory, halfway between Port Sudan and Khartoum, Sudan's Kush mine is the centrepiece of the government's gold industry. Evacuated when the war began, it is now back to producing hundreds of kilograms per month, according to an engineer at the Russian-built facility, owned by Dubai-based Emiral Resources. On its website, Emiral lists Kush as one of its holdings, alongside subsidiary Alliance for Mining, which it says is "the largest industrial gold producer in Sudan". According to a gold industry source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for his safety, in 2020 the mine "was bought by an Emirati investor who agreed to keep Russian management on". - Underground - According to data from Dubai's commodities exchange, the UAE became the world's second-largest gold exporter in 2023, overtaking Britain. It is also the leading destination for smuggled African gold, according to Swissaid. Abu Dhabi says it has adopted a "responsible gold sourcing policy", including a regulatory legal framework revised in January 2023, to develop a "well-regulated gold sector". According to Ummel, "when you look at the figures, that's not the case." "If this 'Due Diligence Regulations for Responsible Sourcing of Gold' was really implemented, all refineries in the UAE would have to do due diligence, the most basic element of which is to make sure your gold was declared in the country where it comes from," he said. In 2023, data obtained by Swissaid showed UAE gold imports from Chad -- on Sudan's western border -- were more than double the country's estimated maximum capacity, suggesting the majority of it was undeclared and smuggled across borders. Ummel says there is no indication the UAE's conflict-gold market has shrunk in recent years. In the vast Darfur region, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo has controlled gold mines for years. According to Sudan expert Alex de Waal, these enabled him to establish a "private transnational mercenary enterprise", mainly through his family's Al-Junaid Multi Activities Co -- sanctioned by both the United States and the European Union. A UN panel of experts last year concluded that Daglo's gold wealth, through a network of up to 50 companies, helped him buy weapons and bankroll his war effort. Three former Al-Junaid engineers estimated the company's wartime earnings at a minimum of $1 billion per year, based on approximate production and gold prices. Darfur's southern border area alone produces at least 150 kilograms of gold per month, one former engineer told AFP. It is sent first to an airport in the South Sudanese town of Raga, "and then transported by plane to Uganda and Kenya, and then to the UAE", the engineer, who had taken the trip himself, said on condition of anonymity. According to Ummel, "the UAE is not really implementing their regulation, they don't carry out all the necessary controls and at the end they are continuing to fund the war." bur-bha/jsa/dv
