Global syndrome at the local level: The politics of illicit financial flows in Ghana’s artisanal small-scale gold mining sector

Abstract

Most existing studies on illicit financial flows (IFFs) tend to conceptualise it as a global issue, often overlooking the nuanced local complexities that facilitate IFF activities. This qualitative study focuses on Ghana's Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Sector (ASGM), utilising conceptual analysis and fieldwork data to examine the dynamics of IFFs and their implications within local mining fields, the gold trading hubs, and the regulatory sector from the Western, Ashanti, and Greater Accra Regions. The findings reveal operations involving both legal and illegal miners, traders and highlight local discrepancies that incentivise illicit mining and gold trading activities. Key issues identified include challenges in land acquisition, registration, mining license acquisition processes, and illegal trading and use of mercury. The study also uncovers the complex interplay between local and foreign actors in the gold trading network, who often interact with both licit and illicit miners and traders. Furthermore, the study identifies structural and capacity weaknesses within regulatory institutions which create opportunities for illicit activities and concludes with policy and practical recommendations to curb IFFs and ASGM in Ghana to curb IFFs in the ASGM sector.