Anti-money Laundering and Counter-terrorist Gold Pact Signed
The Deputy Minister for Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has chaired the signing of a landmark inter-agency agreement aimed at strengthening anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls within Ghana’s gold sector.
The high-level ceremony at the Ministry of Finance united heads of key regulatory, law enforcement, and intelligence bodies.
The agreement solidifies a coordinated national strategy to tackle financial crime risks, particularly in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), as Ghana undergoes a pivotal mutual evaluation by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).
In his opening address, Mr. Ampem framed the event as a critical shift from planning to accountability.
“Today marks a deliberate move from technical discussions to senior-level affirmation, consolidation, and ownership of agreed reforms,” he stated.
“Your presence reflects our shared commitment to a robust framework for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing in the gold sector.”
The signed agreement builds on the Gold-sector AML/CFT/PF Joint Action Plan, capturing over a year of technical work.
It commits all signatory agencies including the Bank of Ghana, Financial Intelligence Centre, Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Minerals Commission, and the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) to sustained action across three pillars: legal and regulatory reform, law enforcement and financial intelligence, and due diligence and beneficial ownership.
Mr. Ampem emphasised that the agreement is designed to outlive the current GIABA assessment.
“We are jointly affirming that these reforms are nationally owned, institutionally embedded, and designed to endure beyond the Mutual Evaluation,” he told the gathering of senior officials and development partners.
Notable achievements underpinning the pact include the establishment of a dedicated AML/CFT/PF Desk at GoldBod, the operationalisation of ORC’s beneficial ownership sanctions regime—which has already penalised non-compliant gold companies—and the initiation of API integration for real-time data sharing between ORC and GoldBod.
“This Communiqué provides clear evidence of inter-ministerial coordination and senior-level commitment, which are central to international assessments of effectiveness,” Ampem noted.
“More importantly, it establishes a framework for managing gold sector financial crime risks in a way that enhances revenue mobilisation, investor confidence, and sound economic governance.”
The Deputy Minister also reaffirmed the Ministry of Finance’s ongoing leadership role, with the Mining and Industry Unit of the Real Sector Division mandated to provide “structured oversight” and ensure continuity of the reforms.
The UK-Ghana Gold Programme, which provided technical support, was acknowledged for its role in facilitating inter-agency collaboration.
Mr Ampem expressed confidence in the agreement stressing that “it sends a strong and credible signal of Ghana’s resolve” to safeguard the integrity of its gold sector.
Click to read more: https://opemsuo.com/author/hajara-fuseini/
