The founder of Action Chapel International (ACI), Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, has raised concerns over the scale of Ghana’s illegal gold trade, noting that Ghana may have lost huge amounts of gold through the black market over the years.

Speaking during his Sunday service on August 16, 2026, he said he once travelled with his wife, Rosa, to a powerful country in the Middle East. They were hosted to dinner by members of the country’s ruling family.

During the dinner, the issue of Ghana’s gold trade came up and some officials of the country told him they had recorded large amounts of gold from Ghana that were believed to have been obtained through illegal channels.

'Pray for GoldBod' - Duncan-Williams warns of powerful forces behind alleged illegal gold trade

He said the figures shared with him were deeply disturbing.

According to Duncan-Williams, the amount of illegal gold that the country said it had received from Ghana was higher than the amount Ghana had officially recorded as having been sold to that country.

He further claimed that the volume of gold bought through the black market was about three times the amount officially recorded by the Ghanaian government.

“The amount of the illegal gold they recorded that they received or bought from Ghana was three times more than what the government recorded and sold to that country,” he said.

The revelation, he said, left him deeply troubled.

“It disturbed me. It really broke my heart,” he said.

Duncan-Williams also said he was told that powerful individuals with significant financial resources were behind the illegal gold trade.

“The people doing this are very, very powerful people and have some very serious money,” he said.

He said he initially chose not to pursue the matter further.

However, his concerns resurfaced after the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board, commonly known as GoldBod, under the new administration.

He said the introduction of GoldBod and efforts to regulate the gold trade appeared to have affected the supply of gold through the black market.

Duncan-Williams said he later received calls from people in some locations, including the same Middle Eastern country he had visited.

According to him, the callers complained that they could no longer obtain gold from Ghana through the black market as they had done in the past.

“They said they are not getting the supply of the gold like they used to in the past, from the black market,” he said.

He said some of the people who contacted him wanted access to individuals at the highest level in Ghana so they could discuss buying gold.

Duncan-Williams said the amounts of money involved in the proposed purchases were substantial.

“The amount of money they were talking about buying, which they were buying before, and they couldn’t buy again, was a lot of money,” he said.

He did not name the individuals allegedly involved in the transactions or provide documentary evidence of the figures shared with him.

He urged Ghanaians to pray for the country as efforts continue to regulate the gold sector and address illegal mining and gold trading.

“We really need to intercede for our country,” Duncan-Williams said.

ANAS/VPO

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