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Govt. concerned about dwindling gold declaration – Jagdeo
By: Renay Sambach
Kaieteur News – With Guyana’s gold declarations dropping by approximately 209,000 troy ounces over the past five years, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has expressed the Government of Guyana’s concern about this trend. He warned that strict penalties would be imposed on those found guilty of under-reporting gold declarations to evade taxes and royalties.
During a press conference held on Thursday at the Office of the President, Jagdeo commented on a recent report by Kaieteur News highlighting the country’s diminishing gold declarations. He reminded that he previously expressed concerns about low declarations to the Guyana Gold Board (GGB).
In 2019, gold declarations were 641,828 troy ounces, marking a 4.7% increase that year, primarily due to greater declarations from small and medium-scale miners. However, foreign companies, Guyana Goldfields Inc. (Aurora Gold Mines) and Troy Resources Guyana Inc., saw a combined output decline of 26.6% to 186,584 troy ounces.
Jagdeo explained that higher gold declarations in previous years were due to large-scale miners beginning production, leading to increased declarations from those companies.
Kaieteur News had reported that Troy Resources exited Guyana’s gold industry owing the country over $2.6 billion in royalties. Last year, total gold declarations contracted by 11.2 % to 432,113.2 troy ounces, reflecting a decline in production by small- and medium-scale miners and an increase in the sole operating foreign company. It was stated that AGM recorded higher declarations by 7.8% to 109,358.4 troy ounces at the end of 2023.
Jagdeo said, “We are still very concerned about what is happening in the market,” adding, “We believe that there are people that are not selling to the Gold Board to avoid taxes and we believe at that time that it was organised and that it was having an impact.”
He disclosed that legitimate dealers have informed the government that some individuals are offering rates beyond what the gold market can sustain, sometimes even exceeding international market prices. To this end, Jagdeo stated that government believes there is a demand for gold to externalize ill-gotten proceeds.
Last year, the Vice President announced an investigation into gold smuggling amid consistently low declarations.
Providing an update, he mentioned that the government has sufficient evidence against some individuals involved in illegal gold activities. He said too, “And I would even advocate that we amend the law to institute even more severe penalties on people who have done this or are doing this.”
He continued, “So I just want to forewarn those again, who have been engage in this practice that we know who you are or at least some of the key players and the law enforcement agencies of the government are coming after you.”
Moreover, Jagdeo praised the work done by law enforcement agencies in investigating illegal gold activities. He highlighted a recent gold bust at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), where three individuals were charged for allegedly attempting to smuggle over US$500,000 worth of gold out of the country. He said, “What you saw at the airport was just a tiny manifestation of it.”
“I just want to tell you that a lot of work has been done by the law enforcement agencies to understand the intelligence work of the people involved. And they’re going to face the consequences,” he noted.
Furthermore, gold smuggling results in a loss of royalties and taxes to the country. For the past 20 years, Guyana has been receiving either 5-8% royalties from gold operations.
- declarations, Guyana Goldfields Inc., royalties, Troy Resources Guyana Inc, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo
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