Gold for Reserves: Minority calls for bipartisan probe into reported $214m loss under GOLDBOD

The Minority in Parliament has called for a bipartisan parliamentary investigation into the reported $214 million loss allegedly incurred by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) under the Gold-for-Reserves programme between January and September 2025, warning that the figure could rise to $300 million by the end of the year if the government does not take urgent action.

Addressing journalists in Accra on Monday (29 December), the Minority spokesman on information and ranking member of Parliament’s committee on the economy and development, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the inquiry should be conducted by an ad-hoc committee of MPs with powers to subpoena all documentation and bodies connected to the programme.

He said the proposed committee must examine all contracts, licences, intermediaries, aggregators and related entities, including what he described as a monopoly structure under the gold trading arrangement.

According to Oppong Nkrumah, who is also the MP for Ofoase Ayirebi, the committee should compel the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) to disclose publicly their fee structures, pricing formulas, selection criteria for aggregators and the foreign exchange arrangements associated with the programme.

He particularly questioned the basis under which the privately owned company Bawa Rock was chosen to be the sole national aggregator for gold produced by small-scale mining companies and bought by Tier One and Tier Two buyers for onward sale to the state.

Recent reports have suggested that GOLDBOD, which became fully operational in April this year, has sustained substantial losses by paying fees and world commodity market rates to gold producers and buyers but processing revenue inflows through the Bank of Ghana using national interbank rates. Critics allege that GOLDBOD keeps the losses off its books by burying them in BoG accounts.

“We are demanding a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into the circumstances under which the Republic of Ghana has lost $214 million, heading towards $300 million,” Oppong Nkrumah said.

“We are asking for a parliamentary ad-hoc investigative committee with the power to subpoena all contracts, licences [and] intermediaries, including this so-called monopoly structure.”

Galamsey concerns

The Minority also called for the suspension of mining permits in forest reserves and the introduction of strict traceability measures, citing fears that state funds may have been used to purchase gold sourced from illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.

“One of the things we will be asking for is the suspension of permits in forest reserves and the introduction of serious traceability measures because, as things stand, we have every reason to believe that state money is being used to buy galamsey gold,” Oppong Nkrumah told reporters.

He stressed that where negligence or corruption is established, prosecutions must follow and all recoverable funds returned to the state.

The Minority’s call follows the alarm raised by the International Monetary Fund, which first reported the losses and described them as a potential risk to Ghana’s macroeconomic stability. The IMF attributed the losses to transactions involving artisanal and small-scale mining dore gold, referencing alleged “GOLDBOD offtaker fees”.

GOLDBOD rejects claims

However, GOLDBOD has denied incurring losses, describing the IMF claims as speculative and inaccurate. In a statement issued this month, the board’s chief executive officer, Sammy Gyamfi, said GOLDBOD expects an income surplus of at least GHC600 million for the 2025 financial year.

Gyamfi also countered that GOLDBOD does not charge offtaker fees, explaining that GOLDBOD’s role is limited to purchasing, assaying and exporting gold on behalf of the Bank of Ghana, and that all trading and sale agreements with offtakers are handled by the central bank.

He further said that GOLDBOD contributed over $10 billion in foreign exchange to the national coffers in 2025 by purchasing more than 100 tonnes of gold from licensed artisanal producers and small-scale mining companies on behalf of the Bank of Ghana.

He said the board’s additional support to large-scale mining companies has helped boost Ghana’s foreign reserves and strengthen the cedi.