Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has dismissed allegations of extortion levelled against him, describing them as false and defamatory attempts to divert attention from questions he has raised over reported losses under the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
In a statement, Mr Afenyo-Markin said he had come under a barrage of insults, personal attacks and allegations over the past week following his calls for scrutiny of the programme and the role of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) in the transactions.
He rejected the allegations without qualification and maintained that his actions had been driven solely by his constitutional responsibility as Minority Leader to support Parliament’s oversight functions.
“As Minority Leader in Parliament, my responsibility is to help Parliament discharge its constitutional oversight function,” he said.
Mr Afenyo-Markin said he would not allow the attacks to distract him from pursuing answers concerning the reported losses incurred under the gold purchase programme.
He said the Minority Caucus would continue with the necessary parliamentary processes to initiate a full inquiry into the reported GH¢22 billion loss arising from trading undertaken by GoldBod and reflected in the books of the Bank of Ghana.
According to the Minority Leader, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported a loss of approximately US$1.7 billion under the programme in 2025.
He argued that regardless of which institution’s balance sheet carries the loss, the money involved is public funds and therefore requires full public accountability.
Mr Afenyo-Markin said Ghanaians were entitled to know the identities of the off-takers involved in the transactions, the discounts applied to their purchases, who authorised those discounts and the fees earned from the deals.
He also called for a detailed breakdown of the reported US$1.7 billion loss to establish the factors that contributed to it.
“These questions belong in the public record,” he said, adding that the Minority would publish its questions and sources so that Ghanaians could examine the evidence and form their own conclusions.
Mr Afenyo-Markin maintained that the scrutiny was not motivated by personal or political interests but formed part of Parliament’s constitutional oversight responsibility.
He said those uncomfortable with legitimate scrutiny could resort to personal attacks and allegations as a means of shifting public attention away from substantive issues.
“I remain focused,” he said.
The Minority Leader further said his attention and that of the Caucus he leads would remain on the gold programme, the decisions taken under it and the public funds involved.
On the allegations made against him personally, Mr Afenyo-Markin said he intended to pursue the appropriate legal remedies.
The statement comes amid growing public and political debate over the financial implications of the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme and GoldBod’s involvement in gold trading.
Mr Afenyo-Markin said the Minority would continue to place its concerns on the matter in writing and publish its sources to allow the public to independently assess the evidence.
