The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has dismissed claims that it is illegally operating a forex bureau through its foreign exchange operations.

Executive Secretary to the GoldBod CEO Perry Annan rejected suggestions that GoldBod is engaging in unlawful foreign exchange trading, stressing that selling foreign currency earned from gold exports does not amount to operating a forex business.

“Can anyone reasonably describe the sale of dollars by an entity to its bankers as FX trading?” he asked.

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His remarks follow concerns raised by policy expert Dr Mohammed Amin Adam over the legal authority underpinning GoldBod’s foreign currency sales.

Dr Amin Adam argued that the Ghana Gold Board Act does not permit foreign exchange trading and noted that the institution does not have a central bank licence to operate as a forex bureau.

“GoldBod now appears to be operating a forex bureau. They are running foreign exchange sales and foreign exchange auctions,” Dr Amin Adam claimed.

However, Annan stressed that generating foreign exchange for the country is a core legal mandate of GoldBod under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025.

Section 2 of the Act mandates GoldBod to buy and sell gold, generate foreign exchange and support the accumulation of national reserves.

He explained that, in order to continue purchasing gold from miners, GoldBod must convert its foreign export earnings into local currency through commercial banks.

Annan further clarified that the institution only converts its export earnings and does not purchase foreign currencies for speculative purposes.

“FX trading involves buying and selling FX. GoldBod does not buy FX. It only sells the FX it generates from its gold exports,” he said.

He compared the practice to private mining companies that repatriate their export earnings and sell dollars to local banks to finance their operations without being classified as forex bureaux.

The clarification comes amid an ongoing debate over GoldBod’s financing model, which was launched on August 3 and generated $1.315 billion in foreign exchange during its first month.

Of the total amount, $668.21 million was sold directly to commercial banks, while $646.59 million was transferred to the central bank to support national reserve accumulation.

GoldBod projects that it will generate another $1.4 billion in foreign exchange this month, which will be split between sales to commercial banks and reserve accumulation.

ANAS/MA

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