The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) on Tuesday, July 29, handed over seventeen (17) gold bars valued at $1.7 million to the Ghana Bold Board (GoldBod).

At the Ministry of the Interior in Accra, the gold bars seized by officers of the Upper East Command of the Narcotics Control Commission at the Paga Border Post from two Burkinabe nationals who were attempting to smuggle them out of the country were received by the Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod, Sammy Gymafi (Esq.).

The handing-over ceremony was witnessed by the Chief Director of the Ministry, Mrs. Doreen Annan; the Director General of NACOC, Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey; and other senior officials from NACOC and GoldBod.

Sammy Gyamfi expressed gratitude to the Director-General of NACOC for the successful handover and called for continued support and collaboration between various security agencies to enable them to succeed.

Minister for the Interior, Honourable Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, assured the management of GoldBod of the Ministry’s continued support and backing for GoldBod's efforts to manage Ghana's gold resources.

The two Burkinabe nationals have been charged with gold offences relating to transportation and dealing in gold.

According to Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, "at the peak of our economic crisis in 2022, 60 tonnes of gold worth an estimated $1.2 billion at the time, left Ghana through illegal channels."

It is estimated that about 600 tonnes of gold have been smuggled out of the country in the last ten years, valued at over $12 billion.

His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, July 8, launched a special Ghana Gold Board task force to aid in clamping down on illicit gold-smuggling activities in the country.

In his speech, the president cautioned the Ghana Gold Board task force against abusing their office to undertake unlawful activities.

"To the task force, let me be clear. Abuse of your authority will not be tolerated. If any of you is found engaging in misconduct, you will face immediate sanctions, and this could include dismissal, prosecution, and forfeiture of your entitlement," he said.

The president has also announced government's decision to provide an incentive to members of the general public who serve as whistleblowers.

The president noted that informants are eligible to receive 10 percent of the seized gold in cash value.

"So whistleblowers, get ready. If you blow the whistle on anybody and gold is retrieved or cash is received, you’d get 10 percent of the value of both," he said.

The task force will be given a special mandate with specific powers as police officers to wage war against smuggling and all forms of illegal gold trading activities in the country.

According to the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Goldbod, Sammy Gyamfi, this will save the government from any leakages in revenue mobilisation in the sector, helping to generate and invest revenue for economic development.

“(This will) help the state combat and defeat the phenomenon of gold smuggling, the canker of illegal gold trading, and price disruptions that deprive the state of the needed revenue, profit, and the needed forex for our economy and the development of our country,” he announced.

He thus cautioned traders to secure the appropriate licence to engage in any form of gold trading in the country, saying, “But for those who are hell bent on trading illegally without the licenses, we are serving notice that we are coming after you”.

Earlier, the GoldBod CEO on June 5 also warned that persons who trade without licenses would be prosecuted, adding that his outfit takes no bribes before the said licenses are issued.

During a meeting with the Chamber of Licensed Gold Buyers, Mr Gyamfi stated that "I don’t take or demand bribes before I issue a licence."

The acting CEO noted that the process for registering has been made seamless and is devoid of corruption. "We have removed the human interface element, and so there is no corruption, bribery, inducements, or favouritism. It is a very transparent and competitive process, and once you qualify, you get the license," he added.

Lauding his outfit’s results-oriented reforms and initiatives since his takeover as CEO, Sammy Gyamfi, during a media engagement, revealed that GoldBod has exceeded the $5 billion mark in gold export value for the first half of 2025, surpassing the $4.6 billion recorded for the entire year of 2024.

He expressed optimism that GoldBod would hit the 60-tonne export mark by the end of July 2025, driven by stronger compliance, improved oversight, and the streamlined licensing regime under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).

“In the whole of 2024, gold exports stood at 66 tons with an export value of $4.6 billion. We have done only six months, and yet we have crossed the $4.6 billion. We have gone beyond $5 billion, and in terms of volumes, we have done 50 tons and over, and we are optimistic that by the end of next month, we will have hit 60 tons,” he said.

The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) is the sole authority with exclusive right to buy, sell, weigh, grade, assay, value and export gold and other precious minerals in Ghana. The Ghana Gold Board functions under the oversight and supervision of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Ghana.

History of GoldBod

The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) is a body corporate established by an Act of Parliament (ACT 1140) in the year 2025 to oversee, regulate and undertake the buying, selling, assaying, refining, exporting and other related activities in respect of Gold and other Precious Minerals in Ghana.

The GoldBod per section 78 of ACT 1140, took over the rights, obligations, assets, liabilities and workforce of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) Limited, which is an offshoot of the Ghana Diamond Marketing Board.

In 1963, the Ghana Diamond Marketing Board was established and charged with the responsibility of purchasing and marketing Ghana’s diamonds.

In 1965, by a Legislative Instrument (LI) 401, the Ghana Diamond Marketing Board was incorporated as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE).

Upon the promulgation of the diamonds decree (NRCD 32) in 1972, LI 916 was enacted to change the company’s name to Diamond Marketing Corporation.

In 1989, PNDC Law 219 was enacted to yet again change the Company’s name to the Precious Minerals Marketing Corporation with enhanced functions to grade, assay, value gold, diamonds and other precious minerals of the country.

In the year 2000, the Corporation was converted by the Statutory Corporations Conversion to Companies Act (ACT 461) to a Limited Liability Company to operate under the Ghana Companies Code Act, (ACT 179) 1963, as Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) Limited with the same functions.

In the year 2016, the PMMC was appointed the national assayer by the government of Ghana.

To strengthen industry regulation and optimize national benefits, the Ghana GoldBod was established on 2 April, 2025 by the government of Ghana to restructure and streamline the precious mineral trading sector of Ghana.

The GoldBod initiative is a product of extensive stakeholder consultations and aims at maximizing foreign exchange inflows, gold reserve accumulation and value addition for sustainable growth and transformation.