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We are publishing this because, as a trade finance advisory firm, we are approached daily by people seeking financing for alleged gold transactions that do not survive basic verification. These scams target first-time buyers and non-specialists, then weaponise urgency, jargon, and paperwork theatre to extract advance fees.
Here is the baseline truth. Gold is priced off global benchmarks. It is not sold at huge discounts to strangers. Not at a mine gate, not at a local buying counter a few hundred metres from a mine, and not inside a “special export corridor” story. If there is a haircut, it is usually linked to purity, processing, logistics, security, and settlement risk. In legitimate commercial trade, haircuts beyond 10% do not make sense. Claims of 20% to 40% discounts are almost always bait.
Large-scale gold is not a local bargain product. It is a globally traded commodity with deep liquidity and constant arbitrage at the institutional level. The benchmark reference used across markets is the LBMA Gold Price. Local currency quotes move with spot and FX, not with someone’s story.
If you want to see how local quotes track spot in different currencies, compare live country pages such as gold price in Ghana , gold price in Uganda , and gold price in Nigeria. These pages are simply spot and currency conversion. They are not “Africa discounts.”
Scammers love “100 kg” because it overwhelms people who have never priced bullion. Use arithmetic instead. 100 kg is about 3,215.07 troy ounces. If spot is in the mid-USD 4,000s per ounce range, the cargo is a multi-million-dollar asset.
For illustration, use USD 4,460 per troy ounce. That makes 100 kg worth roughly USD 14.34 million at spot. Now look at what the “discount” actually means.
| Scenario (100 kg, ~3,215.07 troy oz) | Implied purchase price | Total value | Margin given away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market price (reference) | USD 4,460 / oz | ~USD 14.34M | 0 |
| 5% haircut | USD 4,237 / oz | ~USD 13.62M | ~USD 0.72M |
| 10% haircut | USD 4,014 / oz | ~USD 12.91M | ~USD 1.43M |
| 30% “discount” (common scam pitch) | USD 3,122 / oz | ~USD 10.04M | ~USD 4.30M |
Here is the logic that should end the conversation. A real seller does not voluntarily give away USD 4.3 million on a single 100 kg lot, then ask you for “small fees” to unlock it. If they truly had the metal, they would sell at market to their existing buyer network, or deliver to a refinery path that clears at market. The fee request is the product. The gold is the story.
At scale, gold output is not funded by hope. To produce and aggregate hundreds of kilos, working capital gets deployed long before export. Fuel, equipment, labour, security, processing, transport, and compliance all cost money. If a mine, an ASGM network, or an aggregator has that kind of production, there is almost always pre-financing somewhere in the chain.
Gold is produced in small lots (often as doré), then consolidated. The producer needs cash to operate continuously. That cash may come from local buyers, financiers, equipment suppliers, or prepayment arrangements.
Aggregators compete for supply. They price off spot and apply a modest haircut tied to assay and costs. They do not “gift” massive discounts. If they did, competitors would buy it instantly.
Exporters and structured buyers want volume and consistency. Financing can show up as prepayment against future deliveries or offtake terms that keep the chain funded. Whoever financed that flow is not waiting around for a random buyer to appear at a discount.
Refinery settlement is where fantasy dies. A real path includes intake procedures, assay, compliance screening, and clear settlement steps. Scammers avoid this because it forces verification, not storytelling.
If you remember just one thing, remember this. A real 100 kg seller is already inside a financing and offtake ecosystem. The capital behind that ecosystem expects repayment. Nobody in that chain is offering a stranger an outsized discount and then asking for “permit fees.”
The structure is classic advance-fee fraud. You are promised something of greater value after an upfront payment. Then the “small payment” becomes a sequence of payments. Official guidance covers this pattern, including the FBI overview of common frauds and scams , the SEC Investor.gov explanation of advance-fee fraud , and the UK guidance on payment in advance scams.
“We have 50 kg to 500 kg at a big discount. You will pay after export.”
“Before you can meet at the vault, you must pay for permits, security escort, or refinery appointment fees.”
“The process is confidential and urgent. If you ask too many questions, the allocation will be lost.”
Trade authorities also warn about altered documents, urgency tactics, and forged “official-looking” paperwork. The U.S. Department of Commerce highlights practical red flags in its Ghana scam and fraud alert.
You do not need to be a commodities professional to avoid getting fleeced. Slow down and ask questions that force verification. If the seller cannot answer, you do not have a deal.
| Question | What a real answer looks like | What a scam answer looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Why are they selling at a huge discount? | A documented reason tied to assay, costs, and settlement risk, with a modest haircut and a buyer path that makes sense. | “Because it is artisanal, urgent, confidential, allocated, and you are lucky.” |
| Who controls the gold and who can verify it independently? | Identifiable custody, re-verification rights, controlled access, and a clean chain of custody. | “Trust us, we will show you after you pay the permit fee.” |
| Who financed production and why are they not the buyer? | A sensible story about offtake and funding that does not require strangers to prepay fees. | Changing stories, invented “platform” explanations, or silence. |
Legitimate transactions are boring in the right way. They rely on controls, documentation, and counterparties that can pass compliance. If you want a baseline for what real trade structuring looks like, start with what trade finance is , then review our How It Works and procedure.
If your package depends on fees to “unlock” gold, or it avoids verifiable custody and settlement, stop. A real lender will not underwrite a story. They underwrite control and repayment reality.
No. Gold is gold. At commercial scale, it is priced off global benchmarks and trades in a globally competitive market. People do not arbitrage the price of gold the way scammers imply. You may see small differences in jewellery or pawn-shop situations, but that is not a model for 25 kg, 50 kg, or 100 kg commercial lots. If you want to sanity-check local quotes, compare live spot conversions in Ghana , Uganda , and Nigeria , then anchor your thinking to the LBMA Gold Price.
Gold is priced off global benchmarks. You may see modest haircuts for purity, processing, logistics, security, and settlement risk. Persistent huge discounts offered to strangers are not normal trade.
Any request for upfront money to “unlock” gold, obtain permits, reserve a refinery slot, or release documents. That is the signature of advance-fee fraud.
Big weights create emotional pressure and make the promised profit feel life-changing. Basic arithmetic shows how much value the “seller” would be giving away. If it does not pass common sense, do not spend another minute on it.
Stop paying. Preserve records. Report it through official channels referenced by the FBI, the SEC, and relevant trade authorities. Also contact your bank immediately if you suspect fraud.
If you have a real commercial contract and need Trade Finance, we can assess bankability, controls, and the documentation required for lender review. Start with our trade finance intake so we can revert with a feasibility view and next steps.
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