Former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansah Asare Esq, has backed the Ghana Gold Board’s legal position on the deportation of foreign nationals arrested before the enforcement of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).
Speaking on PRIME News on ABC News GH on Wednesday, he emphasized that retrospective application of laws is impermissible under Ghanaian legal standards.
“If what was done was not an offense at the time it was done, then the subsequent law seeking to criminal it will not apply to the offender because we don’t apply the law retrospectively, we apply it prospectively,” he said.
His comments follow GoldBod’s announcement on Tuesday, May 14, that six foreign nationals were arrested in two separate operations three before and three after April 30, the law’s commencement date.
According to spokesperson Prince Minkah, the first group Indian nationals apprehended before the new law came into force will be deported.
“They will be repatriated to their home country to reunite with their families,” he said.
However, the second group, caught in Anyinam after the April 30 deadline, will be prosecuted under Act 1140, which now restricts local gold trade exclusively to the Gold Board.
Mr. Asare supported this distinction, explaining that “what was not a crime cannot become a crime merely because a law has been passed from a certain date. The law ought to have been in existence at the time the infraction was committed, not after.”
GoldBod officials maintain that enforcement will be strict going forward, with increased surveillance and collaboration with security agencies.
“The rules are clear. Foreigners can no longer operate in our local gold trade. There will be no excuses moving forward,” Minkah warned, as authorities prepare to prosecute the three suspects arrested under the new regime.
