Global Financial Integrity

Global Financial Integrity’s research has identified significant and concerning money laundering trends within Ghana’s real estate sector. The investigation uncovered 16 cases involving 24 properties and 510 acres of land, revealing the laundering of no less than $48.8 million. Predicate crimes such as fraud via corporate structures, corruption, theft, kidnapping, and drug trafficking fueled the laundering, creating a dangerous nexus between crime and real estate. Moreover, despite the elevated money laundering and terrorism financing (ML/TF) risks associated with Virtual Assets (VAs) and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), Ghana currently lacks specific regulations governing these entities. Meanwhile, properties are increasingly listed and priced in virtual currencies, causing this gap in regulation to be a serious challenge. The report recommends, amongst others, that Ghana strengthen its AML/CTF frameworks. This includes introducing targeted regulations for VAs/VASPs and the government fully operationalizing the Real Estate Agency Council as the central authority to consolidate all the scattered related bodies for improved coordination and supervision, ultimately closing the loopholes that are frequently exploited for laundering illicit funds. Other recommendations include publishing the assets and liabilities PEPs declare before the assumption of office and after their tenure ends and implementing lifestyle audits.