MARKET NEWS
Ghana has lost $11 billion to gold smuggling, links to UAE, report finds - REUTERS
Summary
- Ghana's gold smuggling linked to UAE imports, report shows
- Withholding tax spurred smuggling, was dropped in March
- Reforms aim to boost revenue and traceability in gold sector
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.
