Verify Before You Wire: How Buyers Tell a Real Ghana Gold Deal From a Fake One

Every year, buyers abroad lose money on Ghanaian gold that never existed. The scripts are familiar: a “family concession”, an urgent sale, a sample that tests perfectly, and then a stream of fees before the bulk shipment can leave. The good news is that Ghana’s rules now make many of these offers easy to spot.

The rules changed in 2025

The Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140) made the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) the sole buyer, seller, assayer and exporter of gold from licensed artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Licences previously issued by the PMMC or the Minister to anyone other than large-scale mining companies ceased to be valid, foreigners had to leave local gold trading by 30 April 2025, and from 1 May 2025 buying or dealing in gold without a GoldBod licence became an offence.

Two practical consequences follow for anyone buying from abroad:

• Small-scale gold leaves Ghana through GoldBod. A private individual or company promising to export artisanal gold directly to you is describing a route the law no longer allows.
• Foreign buyers deal with GoldBod. GoldBod’s April 2025 statement said foreigners may apply to it to buy or off-take gold directly.

Large-scale mining companies export their own production under their own licences, but they sell to established refiners and traders, not through cold approaches on social media.

Seven red flags

1. Fees before gold. “Export permit”, “insurance”, “smelting” or “clearing” fees paid to the seller before you receive anything.
2. Prices well below the market. Discounts of 10% or more to the international price have no commercial logic for genuine sellers.
3. Documents you cannot verify. Certificates, permits or licences that the issuing body cannot confirm when you contact it directly.
4. An assay from the seller’s own “lab”. Insist on an independent, accredited laboratory you choose and contact yourself.
5. Doré promised at refined purity. Unrefined doré is typically well below 99% gold; a doré offer at “99.9%” is a warning sign.
6. Pressure and secrecy. Deadlines, “other buyers waiting”, or refusal to let your lawyer or agent inspect.
7. A route that bypasses GoldBod for small-scale gold, or a seller who cannot show a current GoldBod licence for their role.

The checks to run

• Licence: ask for the licence category (for example aggregator or buyer) and confirm it with GoldBod directly, not through the seller.
• Company: confirm registration, directors and beneficial owners with Ghana’s Office of the Registrar of Companies.
• Mineral right: if a concession is mentioned, confirm the licence type, holder and status with the Minerals Commission.
• Assay: use an accredited laboratory you appoint; fire assay is the reference method for purity.
• Payment: use structures that pay only against delivery and verified assay, such as escrow or a documentary letter of credit, ideally with delivery to a recognised refinery.
• People: screen individuals and companies against sanctions lists, and take independent legal advice in Ghana before signing.

The bottom line

Legitimate gold trading in Ghana is regulated, documented and slow to rush. If a deal only works when you skip the checks, it is not a deal.

Sources

• Graphic Online: GoldBod now sole buyer, seller, assayer and exporter of ASM gold (14 April 2025)
• Mondaq: How to acquire a Gold Buyer Licence (Tier 1) under the Gold Board Act
• OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals

This article is for information only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Rules and figures change; confirm the current position with the relevant authority or a qualified adviser before acting. Image: illustration (AI-generated).