The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has introduced comprehensive operational guidelines for all Self-Financing Aggregators (SFAs), establishing a structured framework for the onboarding of international offtakers and the conduct of gold export transactions as part of efforts to strengthen transparency, regulatory compliance, and accountability within Ghana’s gold trading sector.
The new directive, issued by GoldBod’s Compliance Directorate pursuant to the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), requires all Self-Financing Aggregators to strictly comply with clearly defined procedures governing the engagement of offtakers, financial transactions, and export operations.
Under the guidelines, every Self-Financing Aggregator is required to submit the particulars of any prospective offtaker to GoldBod before commencing business. The submission must include all documentation necessary for Know-Your-Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and financial due diligence assessments.
GoldBod will subsequently undertake regulatory and compliance due diligence, including risk assessments, to determine the suitability of the proposed offtaker. Only applicants that successfully satisfy the Board’s due diligence requirements will be permitted to proceed to the next stage.
Following successful due diligence, aggregators must submit a formal application seeking GoldBod’s approval to transact with the approved offtaker together with a draft copy of the proposed offtake agreement. Where approval is granted, GoldBod will issue written trading conditions outlining the operational requirements, obligations, and regulatory conditions governing the transaction.
The guidelines also establish a detailed transaction process to ensure greater transparency in the movement of funds and gold exports.
Under the new framework, approved offtakers are required to remit the agreed foreign currency purchase funds in accordance with GoldBod’s prescribed trading conditions. Upon confirmation of receipt of the foreign exchange inflows and in line with the applicable Bank of Ghana Reference Rate and regulatory requirements, GoldBod will, at the request of the Self-Financing Aggregator, convert the foreign currency into Ghana cedis and transfer the equivalent amount into the aggregator’s designated bank account.
Self-Financing Aggregators are further required to acknowledge receipt of the converted funds within 24 hours before proceeding to purchase gold locally in strict compliance with GoldBod’s official pricing regime, regulations, and directives.
After aggregating the purchased gold, the aggregator must apply to GoldBod for export approval. The Board will then undertake the necessary assay and verification processes, including confirmation of the associated foreign exchange inflows, before facilitating the export of the gold to the approved offtaker.
The guidelines also make Self-Financing Aggregators responsible for all applicable assay and regulatory fees payable to GoldBod, as well as logistics, freight, insurance, and other third-party costs associated with exports.
As part of the directive, GoldBod emphasised that its role in transactions between Self-Financing Aggregators and approved offtakers is strictly regulatory and administrative.
The Board clarified that it shall not be deemed a party to any financing arrangement, purchase agreement, sales contract, export contract, payment arrangement, or any other commercial relationship entered into between an aggregator and an approved offtaker.
GoldBod further stressed that it neither guarantees nor warrants the financial standing, payment obligations, supply commitments, contractual performance, or commercial viability of either party. Similarly, any approval, due diligence outcome, confirmation, acknowledgement, or communication issued by the Board shall not constitute a guarantee of payment, supply, contractual performance, or an assumption of liability for any transaction.
The directive places full responsibility for all commercial, contractual, and financial arrangements on the Self-Financing Aggregator, requiring each SFA to indemnify and hold GoldBod harmless against any claims, disputes, losses, liabilities, payment defaults, contractual breaches, or commercial disagreements arising from transactions with approved offtakers.
GoldBod stated that the notice forms an integral part of the terms and conditions governing every Self-Financing Aggregator licence. Consequently, compliance with the directive is mandatory, and any breach may attract the sanctions prescribed under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), in addition to other regulatory measures available to the Board.
The latest guidelines form part of GoldBod’s ongoing reforms to build a transparent, accountable, and internationally competitive gold trading ecosystem while safeguarding the integrity of Ghana’s gold exports and strengthening confidence among participants across the gold value chain.
