Over the past few weeks, growing confusion has surrounded claims of a US$1.7 billion loss linked to Ghana’s domestic gold purchasing programme and the operations of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).

The figure has become the centre of a political dispute, with Minority Leader Osahen Alexander Afenyo-Markin raising questions about the programme’s financial implications, while GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi has rejected the suggestion that GoldBod incurred a US$1.7 billion loss.

Amid the competing claims, EIB Network journalist Tutuwaa Danso has taken a closer look at the figures and the documents at the centre of the controversy.

In an explainer, Ms Danso examines the available data, relevant International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports and GoldBod’s audited accounts to establish what the figures actually show.

The explainer also traces the origin of the widely cited US$1.7 billion figure and examines which entity recorded the reported losses.

Watch the video below for Tutuwaa Danso’s detailed breakdown of the reported US$1.7 billion GoldBod loss and what the available records actually show.