Germany withdrew two thirds of its vast holdings of gold from Bank of England vaults shortly after the launch of the euro more than a decade ago, according to a confidential report by German auditors.
Germany has 3,396 tons of gold worth
€143bn (£116bn), the world's second-largest holding after the US. Nearly
all of it was shifted to vaults abroad during the Cold War in case of a
Soviet attack. Photo: ALAMY
8:24PM BST 24 Oct 2012
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The revelation came as Germany's budget watchdog demanded an on-site probe of
the country's remaining gold
reserves in London, Paris, and New York to verify whether the metal really
exists.
The country has 3,396 tons of gold worth €143bn (£116bn), the world's
second-largest holding after the US. Nearly all of it was shifted to vaults
abroad during the Cold War in case of a Soviet attack.
Roughly 66pc is held at the New York Federal Reserve, 21pc at the Bank of
England, and 8pc at the Bank of France. The German Court of Auditors told
legislators in a redacted report that the gold had "never been verified
physically" and ordered the Bundesbank to secure access to the storage
sites.
It called for repatriation of 150 tons over the next three years to test the
quality and weight of the gold bars. It said Frankfurt has no register of
numbered gold bars.
The report also claimed that the Bundesbank had slashed its holdings in London
from 1,440 tons to 500 tons in 2000 and 2001, allegedly because storage
costs were too high. The metal was flown to Frankfurt by air freight.
