Kandifo Institute petitions AG, OSP, EOCO over alleged unlawful activities at GoldBod

The Kandifo Institute has petitioned the Office of the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) over what it describes as serious and credible concerns surrounding alleged unlawful activities within Ghana’s GoldBod operations.

In the petition, submitted as concerned citizens, the Institute claims it has gathered intelligence suggesting that a person currently under investigation for alleged financial loss to the state has re-emerged within Ghana’s gold value chain, in apparent violation of the GoldBod Act and related laws.

The individual is identified as Mr Roger Frimpong Kwakye, Managing Director of Goldstrom Ghana, who was previously linked to the now-defunct MIIF Gold-for-Forex operations in 2024 and is allegedly under active investigation by the OSP. The Institute alleges that despite this, Mr Kwakye is involved in critical GoldBod functions, including gold assaying, smelting, pricing and refinery-related activities.

The Institute further alleges that Mr Kwakye has contracted a foreign refinery operating at the Swiss Port area of the Kotoka International Airport, associated with Goldstrom, to assay and smelt gold for BAWA-ROCK Limited on behalf of Ghana GoldBod. It questions the legality of the arrangement, arguing that neither Mr Kwakye nor Goldstrom is licensed under any category of the GoldBod licensing regime.

The petition also alleges that gold pricing and the distribution of funds to Tier 1 and Tier 2 GoldBod license holders have been conducted through informal digital platforms, including WhatsApp, since the inception of GoldBod, in contravention of the law.

Additionally, the Institute claims that on 19 November 2025, while allegedly still under investigation and after an attempted departure from the country without proper notification, Mr Kwakye was engaged to organise and facilitate GoldBod traceability training programmes without any competitive procurement process.

The petition raises concerns about due diligence, questioning how an individual under serious criminal investigation could meet the “fit and proper” requirements to influence GoldBod operations, and who authorised BAWA-ROCK Limited to collaborate with him and receive GoldBod funds.

The Kandifo Institute also claims that Goldstrom became foreign-owned in January 2025 and is neither a Ghanaian company nor a certified GoldBod entity, yet has allegedly been contracted to undertake refinery-related activities, contrary to the intent of the GoldBod Act.

The Institute is calling on the Attorney-General, the OSP and EOCO to urgently investigate the allegations and take appropriate action to safeguard the integrity of Ghana’s gold sector and prevent potential abuse of the GoldBod framework.