Security expert Professor Kwesi Aning has alleged that an international network of organised crime groups, including a branch of the Italian mafia, is laundering dirty money through Ghana’s illegal gold mining and trading sector.
Professor Aning cited multiple research findings that reveal how transnational criminal networks are exploiting Ghana’s porous gold market to clean illicit funds.
“There are several studies, one shows that a group from Italy, an Italian mafia, brings in enough dirty money to buy gold,” he said. “They buy the gold here, sell it elsewhere, clean the money, and send it back to Europe. This is free consultancy for national security and the financial intelligence agency.”
The Director of Academic Affairs and Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) warned that Ghana’s illegal mining industry, locally known as galamsey, has evolved into a lucrative front for money laundering and other organised criminal activities.
He noted that the newly established National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NIAMOS), tasked with coordinating government’s anti-galamsey efforts, could face strong resistance from powerful criminal networks benefiting from the illicit trade.
“Ghana is the second-largest gold-producing country in Africa, after Mali, and the leakages are massive,” Professor Aning said. “Initial calculations show that about 2 to 2.5 billion dollars worth of illicit small-scale gold oozes out of the system every year. This creates a powerful incentive for organised criminal groups to resist NIAMOS’ efforts.”
Professor Aning cautioned that the nexus between illegal mining, money laundering, and organised crime poses a serious national security threat. He suggested that the growing involvement of international syndicates could destabilize communities, undermine law enforcement efforts, and erode public trust in state institutions.
“This is not just an environmental or economic issue; it is a deep-seated security challenge,” he emphasised. “If left unchecked, these networks could evolve into groups capable of terrorising Ghanaians or influencing political and economic systems.”
The security consultant urged Ghana’s National Security Ministry, Financial Intelligence Centre, and other law enforcement agencies to strengthen inter-agency collaboration and enhance financial surveillance within the mining sector.
He also recommended stricter due diligence measures for gold traders and exporters, as well as international cooperation to track and prosecute transnational crime syndicates operating through Ghana’s mining value chain.