Government takes decisive action against gold trafficking
A high-level meeting convened on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at the Ministry of Commerce’s conference hall to tackle critical challenges in the gold sector. The session focused on restructuring the gold value chain and enhancing traceability to curb illegal trade.
The meeting was led by the Minister of Mines, Industry, and Technological Development, Professor Fuh Calistus Gentry, alongside key officials including the Director-General of Customs, the Director-General of Taxes, the Director-General of the Treasury, the Director-General of SONAMINES, the Permanent Secretary of the National Committee for the Prevention of Money Laundering, and representatives from the Ministry of Mines.
Judicial crackdown intensifies
Central to the discussions was the need to strengthen gold traceability, streamline the gold value chain, and improve inter-agency coordination. Participants emphasized that this initiative aims to boost tax revenue collection, dismantle informal networks, and maximize state revenues from gold mining.
This strategic meeting follows a series of government measures to tighten oversight of mineral resource exploitation and promote transparency in the gold sector. Recent disclosures by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) revealed alarming discrepancies: while Cameroonian customs recorded only 22 kg of gold exports, over 15 metric tons of Cameroonian-origin gold were declared upon arrival in the United Arab Emirates. This smuggling epidemic has cost the state an estimated 2,000 billion FCFA over five years, including 165 billion FCFA in direct tax losses.
165 billion FCFA in lost revenue
The government’s response comes amid mounting pressure to address rampant gold trafficking, which has severely undermined the country’s mineral wealth. Authorities are now prioritizing judicial and economic measures to sanitize the gold supply chain and ensure sustainable revenue generation.
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