How Ghana appeared in the "Gold Mafia" Documentary by Aljazeera

 

In April, a documentary investigation was carried out into gold smuggling and money laundering syndicates in Zimbabwe, and Ghana was implicated in the findings.

The final episode of the investigative documentary shows journalists who pretended to be Chinese gangsters meeting with Alistair Mathias, a person described as a "Financial Architect" who assists in laundering money. Mathias boasted about his success in orchestrating similar schemes for corrupt African politicians and claimed to have executed similar operations in Ghana. He even stated that he is good friends with the Ghanaian President, who he says used to be his lawyer.

According to the undercover reporters, Alistair Mathias claimed that he has a close relationship with Ghana's President and that the President used to be his lawyer. Mathias also revealed that he used to be the biggest gold smuggler in Ghana, making up to $40-60 million a month from the country.

During the documentary, Mathias explained his method of operation to the journalists, stating that the key to his success in Africa is the trust he has established with corrupt politicians who rely on him to launder their stolen resources. He disclosed that the politicians he works with do not keep their assets in their own names but instead use proxies.

He gave an example of government infrastructure and said that he can secure large contracts for Ghanaian politicians, overstate the cost, and then divide the profits among themselves.

He mentioned that in Ghana, he acquires bids for various projects such as road construction, procurement, and supplying goods like oil. This indirectly benefits politicians as they are taken care of, enabling him to conduct his other activities freely.

“For example, Ghana government, Mathias Holdings, I get the contract. I subcontract it to you, $100 million contract. Ghana government pays me $100 million. I give it to you and you say it’s $80 million” he told the investigative reporters who secretly recorded the interaction.

In this situation, the remaining $20 million from the exaggerated $100 million is divided according to an agreement made between Alistair and the politician in question.

“I’ll have an arrangement with them and they get 15… I’ll probably get 5 million,” he added.

“I keep all of it in Dubai. Whenever they want it, they just tell me and I send it.”

Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo says had no recollection of acting as a lawyer for Alistair Mathias or his company.

Let's see what happens next. 

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