Why the documentation chain matters

Gold is one of the goods FATF, the global body that sets anti-money laundering standards, flags as high-risk for money laundering: high value, easy to move, hard to trace back to its source. Its own evaluation of the UAE names dealers in precious metals as one of the sectors requiring the closest supervision (source: FATF, Mutual Evaluation of the United Arab Emirates). A buyer who accepts gold without a complete, verified paper trail is taking on a compliance problem, even if the gold itself is genuine.

The six documents below are the minimum package for a compliant transaction. Check them as a set, not one at a time: a fraud operation can fake a single document convincingly, but rarely keeps every document consistent across the whole set.

01
The Export Permit
Issued by the national mining authority: GoldBod in Ghana (source: Ghana Gold Board), the Mining Commission in Tanzania (source: Tanzania Mining Commission), the DNGM in Mali (source: Ministère des Mines du Mali), or the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Quarries in Burkina Faso (source: Ministère de l'Énergie, des Mines et des Carrières). It covers one specific shipment only: a fixed quantity, purity, exporter name, and destination. It cannot be reused for a different shipment or transferred to a different exporter.
→ Verify: Call the issuing authority directly. Confirm the permit number, the named exporter, the declared quantity, and that the permit is still current, not cancelled.
02
The Assay Certificate
Issued by an accredited laboratory, this document states the gold's purity and weight: the number the buyer is actually paying for. In Ghana, GoldBod performs this function directly. In Tanzania, it is a lab certified by the Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency. In Mali, a lab recognised by the DNGM. An assay from a lab the buyer has not checked independently is not something to build a price on.
→ Verify: Confirm the lab's accreditation with the national authority directly, not through the seller. Get the lab's own contact details and confirm the certificate reference with them.
03
The Tax Clearance Certificate
Confirms that royalties, export duties, and taxes have actually been paid to the national revenue authority, the Ghana Revenue Authority or the Tanzania Revenue Authority, for example. This is different from the export permit: the permit shows the obligation was assessed, this document shows it was paid. If a seller asks for money upfront, they are effectively asking the buyer to fund this payment.
→ Verify: Cross-check the tax ID number on the certificate against the company's registration documents. The value declared should match the quantity on the export permit.
04
The Certificate of Origin
Confirms where the gold was mined and that it is not conflict-sourced. Buyers ask for this because the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals expects it as part of any serious sourcing check (source: OECD Due Diligence Guidance). It is issued by the origin country's trade or mining authority. Ghana, Tanzania, and Mali are not conflict-affected zones under that guidance, but reputable refineries still ask for the certificate as a matter of course.
→ Verify: Confirm the issuing authority and the certificate reference. The exporter name and quantity must match the export permit exactly.
05
The Customs Declaration
Filed and stamped by customs at the moment of export. It records the weight, declared value, exporter, destination, and transport route, confirming the shipment actually left as declared. It is a government record, so the customs authority in the country of origin can confirm it exists.
→ Verify: The declaration's reference number, exporter name, and quantity must match every other document in the package.
06
The AML / KYC Documentation Package
Not one document but a set: beneficial ownership declaration, corporate registration, director identification, source-of-funds documentation, and, for larger deals, an independent legal opinion. Gulf financial institutions dealing in gold face close FATF scrutiny (source: FATF Guidance for Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones), and need this package to clear a shipment on their end. A seller who cannot produce it is not a workable counterpart for a regulated buyer, whatever else is in order.
→ Verify: Screen every named individual and entity against sanctions lists (OFAC, UN, EU) and INTERPOL notices. Cross-check the beneficial ownership declaration against the company registry.

The consistency check

Every document states the same core facts: exporter name, quantity, purity, transaction reference. In a genuine package, these match everywhere. Checking documents one at a time misses inconsistencies that only appear when they are laid side by side. Before committing to anything, put all six documents next to each other and confirm the exporter, quantity, purity, and dates line up exactly.

"The documentation package is a system. A fraud operation that can forge one document rarely keeps perfect consistency across all six, unless no one ever checks them together."