The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) have begun a joint initiative to track and disrupt illicit financial flows associated with Ghana’s gold trading sector as part of efforts to strengthen transparency and accountability in the industry.

The collaboration, supported by the United Kingdom Ghana Gold Programme (UKGGP), has entered its operational phase following the first technical meeting between GoldBod and EOCO.

The initiative is expected to establish a structured framework for intelligence sharing, monitoring and joint follow-up on suspicious financial activities linked to gold trading.

The partnership comes as Ghana intensifies efforts to strengthen oversight of the gold sector and ensure that transactions associated with the country’s most important mineral export comply with both domestic and international standards.

Intelligence sharing

The technical engagement is expected to provide the two institutions with a mechanism for exchanging relevant intelligence and monitoring financial transactions that could point to illicit activity within the gold value chain.

The framework will also facilitate joint follow-up on suspicious transactions, enabling the institutions to coordinate their responses where financial activities raise concerns.

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod reaffirmed the Board’s commitment to working closely with EOCO to strengthen compliance within the gold trading sector.

“We give full support to management and look forward to ensuring that the gold trade is conducted in compliance with local and international standards. These frameworks are from credible sources and are traceable,” he said.

The comments underscore GoldBod’s intention to strengthen the integrity of gold trading by ensuring that transactions and sourcing practices conform to recognised standards.

EOCO backs ‘sanitised’ gold trade

The Head of Investigations at EOCO, Felix Mawulolo Amegashie, said gold remained critical to Ghana’s economy and that the collaboration would provide the institutions with greater visibility over financial transactions within the sector.

He said improved visibility over the movement of funds would strengthen the ability of the institutions to identify suspicious financial activities and respond to potential illicit flows.

Mr Amegashie said the objective, with EOCO’s support, was to help keep Ghana’s gold trade “sanitised”.

The partnership is being supported by the UKGGP, which is expected to provide technical assistance and international best practices to strengthen transparency and responsible sourcing.

The programme’s support is intended to enhance the capacity of the Ghanaian institutions to monitor financial activities associated with gold trading while promoting practices that meet international expectations on responsible sourcing.

The collaboration therefore brings together GoldBod’s role in the gold trading sector and EOCO’s investigative mandate to create a stronger mechanism for identifying and disrupting illicit financial flows.

The institutions are expected to use intelligence sharing and coordinated monitoring to improve oversight of suspicious transactions and strengthen the integrity of Ghana’s gold trade.

For a sector that remains central to the Ghanaian economy, the initiative signals a stronger focus on ensuring that the financial flows generated by gold trading are transparent, traceable and compliant with applicable local and international standards