{
  "id": 178588,
  "title": "IMF report reveals $1.7 billion BoG gold purchase losses – 8 times higher than the previously reported $214 million",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/imf-report-reveals-1-7-billion-bog-gold-purchase-losses-8-times",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-05T13:47:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/imf-report-reveals-1-7-billion-bog-gold-purchase-losses-8-times-higher-than-the-previously-reported-214-million/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) incurred losses of over $1.7 billion from its Domestic Gold Purchase Programme in 2025, eight times higher than the previously reported $214 million. The magnitude of the loss, equivalent to 1.5% of Ghana's GDP, was disclosed in IMF Country Report No. 26/213, which serves as background documentation for the 2026 Article IV Consultation.\n\nThe report attributes these staggering losses primarily to the increased operations of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme in 2025, with almost all of the losses linked to G4R doré purchases. The IMF highlighted multiple factors contributing to the losses, including service and assay fees paid to the GoldBod agent, discounts received when selling gold to off-takers or exporters, and exchange rate losses stemming from the difference between the forex bureau rate paid for gold purchases and the cedi reference rate utilized for BoG accounting.\n\nAdditionally, the report notes that Ghanaian artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) prices are among the highest in the region, which further exacerbates the financial burden. While the accounting losses partly reflect valuation effects rather than direct economic costs, they still negatively impact the BoG's balance sheet. This situation necessitates transfers to recipients of foreign exchange at the reference rate – either the BoG itself when accumulating reserves or recipients of BoG foreign exchange sales executed at the reference rate.\n\nMoreover, the report points out that Gold-for-Reserves-related claims on the Bank of Ghana Savings Trust (BOST) were partly written off during the year, adding to the overall loss. At the end of 2025, the BoG's negative equity was recorded at 6.7% of Ghana's GDP, further underscoring the financial strain caused by these losses.",
  "summary": "It has emerged that losses from the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, implemented through GoldBod, were far greater than initially disclosed. According to IMF Country Report No. 26/213 on Ghana, prepared as background documentation for the 2026 Article IV Consultation, the widely reported US$214 million loss in 2025 represented only a small fraction of the total loss to the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}