Bank of Ghana’s $1.7 billion Gold-for-Reserves losses misrepresented as GoldBod deficit, says Barker-Vormawor

Private legal practitioner Oliver Barker-Vormawor has wading into the contentious debate surrounding the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, clarifying that the staggering 1.7 billion US Dollars loss reported by the International Monetary Fund was incurred by the central bank and not the Gold Board.

The controversy gathered momentum following claims by the Parliamentary Minority leadership targeting the GoldBod Chief Executive Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, over the financial figures contained in a recent IMF report.

Clarifying the details of the report, Barker-Vormawor explained that the IMF accurately documented that the central bank sustained losses exceeding 1.7 billion US Dollars in 2025 through its Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, driven largely by Gold-for-Reserves transactions.

According to him, the IMF report identified three distinct components accounting for the loss, including service and assay fees paid to GoldBod, discounts granted to gold off-takers, and significant exchange rate spreads between forex bureau rates and the cedi reference rate used for central bank accounting.

“If the Bank of Ghana paid money to GoldBod, does that not mean that GoldBod earned revenue? How can that same revenue be presented as a loss incurred by GoldBod?” Barker-Vormawor questioned, arguing that converting a cost incurred by the central bank into a direct loss for GoldBod is fundamentally inaccurate.

He noted that the largest share of the financial loss stemmed from accounting differentials rather than missing physical funds, as the gold was purchased from local miners using prevailing forex bureau rates but recorded using lower cedi reference rates.

While maintaining that the central bank’s operations must remain subject to strict public scrutiny regarding discount justifications and fee structures, the legal practitioner cautioned against misleading narratives aimed at scoring political points.

“We need continuous scrutiny of public institutions, but deliberate misinformation benefits no one. Instead of accountability, we cannot be served propaganda pro max,” he stated.

Barker-Vormawor further observed that the ongoing political friction and inflated accusations risk undermining the credibility of parliamentary oversight, warning that constant false alarms dilute the impact of legitimate criticism.

He expressed concern that the false attribution has triggered unnecessary internal strife and unwarranted attacks on political figures, including former lawmaker Nii Lante Vanderpuije, calling on political actors to focus on substantive economic accountability rather than partisan distractions.

Read his opinion below

LET’S TALK GOLDBOD and Sammy Gyamfi!!

For those struggling to make sense of all the noise, lets make it clearer in just 20 points:

1. A couple of weeks ago, the IMF published a report in which it stated, accurately, that the Bank of Ghana incurred losses of more than US$1.7 billion in 2025 through the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
2. Here are the IMF’s exact words:

“DGPP operations have generated significant losses for the BoG. Losses in 2024 were equivalent to almost US$400 million (0.5 percent of GDP), one third of which were related to G4O. In 2025, the significant scaling up of DGPP operations led to losses of over $1.7 billion (1.5 percent of GDP), almost entirely related to G4R doré purchases; this amounted to a loss of 17 percent of the value of doré gold sold by the BoG. Losses accrued on gold trades are a combination of service and assay fees paid to GoldBod, discounts on gold sold to off-takers (exporters) and, most importantly, exchange rate losses from the spread between the forex bureau rate paid to purchase gold and the cedi reference rate used for BoG accounting.”

3. Read that passage closely. The IMF says that the losses arose almost entirely from the purchase and subsequent sale of doré gold under the Gold-for-Reserves programme. Those losses amounted to approximately 17% of the total value of the doré gold sold by the Bank of Ghana.
4. The 17% is not a separate cause of the loss. It tells us the scale of the loss relative to the value of the doré gold sold.
5. The IMF then identifies three components of the loss.
   First, the Bank of Ghana paid GoldBod service and assay fees. I want you to pause here for a moment.
6. If the Bank of Ghana paid money to GoldBod, does that not mean that GoldBod earned revenue? How can that same revenue be presented as a loss incurred by GoldBod? That would be like saying the contractor lost money because the government paid the contractor’s bill.
7. This does not answer whether GoldBod’s fees were reasonable or excessive. Those fees could be scrutinised. But it is inaccurate to convert a cost incurred by the Bank of Ghana when it paid Goldbod into a loss for GoldBod. ah!
8. Second, the Bank of Ghana incurred losses because it sold some of the gold to off-takers and exporters at a discount. Again we can discuss whether the discounts are justified. Many believe they are, as a smuggling deterrent mechanism. Even as they question how long we can keep those discounts.
9. Finally, and most importantly according to the IMF, while the gold was purchased from miners using the forex bureau rate, the Bank of Ghana accounted for the transactions using a lower cedi reference rate. The difference between the two rates was recorded as a loss.
10. To give an example, if you have US$1,000 in the bank, you may get only GH¢10,350 for it. But if Kwame has US$1,000 in his hand and is calling Abotsi to change it for him, he has GH¢12,000 in his hand. The difference is GH¢1,650. That’s the logic.
11. This is why, some are calling it a “paper loss” You did not
12. Now, from everything I have explained, where did GoldBod itself incur the US$1.7 billion loss for which the Minority Leader says Sammy Gyamfi’s bail conditions will be like a pig’s fingernail?
13. The IMF passage being circulated does not establish that claim.
14. To be Clear, none of this means that the BoG’s programme should escape scrutiny. We must ask whether the fees incurred were justified, why gold was sold at a discount, whether the pricing and exchange-rate arrangements made sense, who approved them, and whether the benefits of the programme justified its cost.
15. We need continuous scrutiny of public institutions. But deliberate misinformation benefits no one. Instead of accountability, we can’t be served propaganda pro max. In the end, this distracts us from the questions that actually matter.
16. Sadly, Nii Lante Vanderpuije has become one of the casualties of this misinformation. The unnecessary attacks on him, based largely on the smoke generated by a false attribution, have created a needless distraction within the NDC itself. Completely unnecessary. But whom ma Mae, to tell you how not to tear your own party apart?
17. I want a robust Minority. Ghana needs one. But if the NPP wants to win back voters, I am not sure it should become the party that cries wolf every time. When every allegation is inflated into a scandal, even legitimate criticism eventually loses its force.
18. Finally, I understand the Sammy Gyamfi derangement syndrome that the opposition may have. I get it. I am the victim of it myself sometimes.
19. Why? Because those whom the party blames most for its defeat will naturally attract its fiercest attacks. Again I get it. I take it in stride.
20. But on this outing, I am not sure the Minority Leader has covered himself in glory.

Shalom.

By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana