Gold smuggling drains African revenues as governments tighten controls

Illegal gold mining and smuggling are depriving African governments of potential revenue, according to a Business Africa report examining the trade in gold outside official channels.

The report highlights the scale of suspected illicit flows from Africa to the United Arab Emirates. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime estimates that 405 tonnes of gold shipped from Africa to the UAE in 2022, representing 66.5% of those exports, may have been smuggled.

The estimate is presented as a possibility rather than a confirmed total. It points to the difficulty governments face in tracking gold production and exports across a sector that includes both formal and informal activity.

Cameroon figures show wide gap

Figures attributed to Cameroon’s national mining company compare gold received by Dubai with the country’s officially declared exports between 2021 and 2025.

Dubai reportedly received 44 tonnes of gold from Cameroon during the period, while officially declared exports amounted to 148 kilograms. The source does not identify the national mining company by name.

The report identifies the cost of gold smuggling to Cameroon as nearly 2 trillion CFA francs, underlining the financial consequences of gold leaving the formal system.

Côte d’Ivoire expands oversight

Côte d’Ivoire has recorded a substantial increase in official gold production, rising from 13 tonnes in 2012 to 51 tonnes in 2023. However, illegal mining continues to spread across several regions despite penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

The activity has also caused severe environmental damage, according to the report. In response, Côte d’Ivoire established the Ivorian Precious Metals Company to regulate the gold supply chain and improve the way gold is traded.

The company forms part of efforts to bring greater control to the movement of gold from production through to sale, as the country seeks to strengthen its formal market.

Burkina Faso develops domestic capacity

Burkina Faso, described as one of West Africa’s leading gold producers, has taken steps to increase national control over the sector.

The country’s first gold refinery is now operational in Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso has also introduced a new mining code and established two companies responsible for gold trading and oversight. The names of those companies were not specified in the report.

These measures are intended to improve oversight of production, refining and trade, while reducing the amount of gold handled outside official channels.

The report presents the actions in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso as part of wider efforts by African governments to retain more value from the continent’s gold resources and limit revenue losses linked to illegal mining and smuggling.