Accra: The New Patriotic Party has accused the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) of enabling illegal mining profits to enter the formal gold trading chain, alleging that the state-owned institution lacks effective systems to verify the source of gold it purchases.
According to Ghana Web, the Party’s National Organiser Henry Nana Boakye stated that GoldBod’s gold purchasing system has created loopholes allowing gold produced through illegal mining activities to enter the formal gold trading chain. Addressing the media on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, Nana Boakye alleged that GoldBod is unable to adequately distinguish between gold sourced from licensed mining operations and gold produced through illegal mining.
Boakye further questioned how GoldBod verifies the source of gold purchased through its licensed buyers, arguing that the absence of effective traceability mechanisms could allow illegally mined gold to enter the formal trading system. He mentioned that concerns about the sources of gold purchased by GoldBod had also been raised by stakeholders in the mining sector, including the Ghana Chamber of Mines and some Members of Parliament.
He insisted that authorities must provide clear answers on how gold purchased by the state-owned institution is sourced and verified. The NPP National Organiser also criticised repeated assurances that systems were being developed to address the problem, arguing that the measures had yet to provide sufficient answers to concerns over gold traceability. He called for greater transparency in GoldBod’s gold purchasing operations, particularly regarding the mechanisms used to verify the source of gold entering the formal trading chain.