{
  "id": 3771688,
  "title": "Domestic Gold Purchase Programme: ‘US$1.7bn loss is largely a book issue’ — IEA",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/domestic-gold-purchase-programme-us-1-7bn-loss-is-largely-a-book-3771688",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-27T15:48:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Joy Business",
    "slug": "joy-business",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/domestic-gold-purchase-programme-us1-7bn-loss-is-largely-a-book-issue-iea/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has stated that a sizable portion of the reported US$1.7 billion loss in the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme is due to accounting and valuation treatment, rather than an actual economic loss. Professor Alexander Bilson-Darku, the Institute's Director of Research, emphasized that the figure needs proper disaggregation before drawing conclusions about the financial implications of the gold purchase programme. He explained that the first two components of the reported loss involved payments made by the central bank to GoldBod, the Ghana Gold Board, for gold purchased and exported on behalf of the Bank of Ghana. These payments constituted revenue for GoldBod and should not be considered as a loss to the state. The third component, which accounted for almost 90% of the reported loss, emerged from the valuation method used by the Bank of Ghana. The discrepancy arose from central banks using reference rates for accounting purposes, which could differ from prevailing foreign exchange rates. Professor Bilson-Darku cautioned against treating the valuation difference as an equivalent cash loss to Ghana, stressing that it is merely a book accounting issue rather than a significant loss to the nation.",
  "summary": "A significant portion of the reported US$1.7 billion loss associated with the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) Domestic Gold Purchase Programme involving the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod)",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "Domestic Gold Purchase Programme: ‘US$1.7bn loss is largely a book issue’ — IEA",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/domestic-gold-purchase-programme-us-1-7bn-loss-is-largely-a-book",
        "published": "2026-08-27T15:48:46.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}