The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the United Kingdom Ghana Gold Programme (UKGGP) have held their first technical meeting as part of efforts to track and trace illicit financial inflows into Ghana’s gold trading ecosystem.
The meeting marks the operational beginning of the collaboration, with the institutions moving from broad commitments to a more structured working arrangement involving defined roles, information sharing and joint follow-up.
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod reaffirmed the Board’s commitment to working closely with EOCO to ensure that gold trading in Ghana is conducted in accordance with established local and international compliance frameworks.
“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.
He said stronger collaboration between GoldBod and EOCO would improve intelligence sharing, strengthen monitoring and enforcement, and support efforts to identify and disrupt illicit financial flows associated with gold trading.
Head of Investigations at EOCO, Felix Mawulolo Amegashie, said gold remains a critical component of Ghana’s national economy, stressing that the partnership would provide the institutions with a clearer understanding of the movement of money through the sector.
He said with EOCO’s support, the task ahead is to help keep Ghana’s gold trade sanitised and ensure that activities within the sector are conducted transparently and within the required regulatory framework.
The UKGGP is supporting Ghana’s efforts to develop a transparent, well-regulated and responsibly sourced gold sector. Its participation in the collaboration is expected to provide technical support and international best practices as the institutions work to strengthen oversight of financial flows within the gold trade.
Story by Freedom Etsey Lavoe