Over the past three years, at least 1,000 kilogram fake-labeled bars totaling US $ 50 million have been found in four Swiss refineries alone and in vaults at JPMorgan Chase Bank alone.
Reuters reported that large refineries' logos were fraudulently stamped on gold bars and slipped into the global supply chain.
The detection of counterfeit bars in JPMorgan Chase vaults proves their high quality.
“The last counterfeit bars found ... were made very professionally,” said Michael Mesarik, CEO of Swiss gold processing company Valcambi.
However, counterfeit gold is actually relatively easy to spot. In this case, the gold itself is real, but fraudulent markings are applied to it. In this case, there is a suspicion that bank employees "turn a blind eye" to the illegal origin of gold, which, according to Reuters, comes from dubious sources in regions such as Venezuela, North Korea and some African countries.
“This is a great way to launder conflict gold. Gold is real, but its origins raise ethical questions ... It looks absolutely authentic, is properly tested for purity and weighed correctly, ”says Richard Hayes, CEO of Australian gold processing company Perth Mint.
Reuters notes that high gold prices have increased the attractiveness of the bullion market, and no one has yet been able to determine who produces these sophisticated counterfeits, but there are fears that illegal bullion is getting into countries to the West from regimes that may be under sanctions. This means that 50 million US dollars can be obtained including for the financing of terrorism.
Currently, banks and producers are required to report whether the gold they use came from Central Africa, where mining can lead to conflicts. According to multiple Reuters sources, when JPMorgan Chase discovered it was holding fraudulent bullion, the bank analyzed the route of origin and determined that they were likely made in Asia, prompting the bank to cut off gold shipments from the region, save for a few well-established refineries. .
According to Reuters sources, most of the counterfeit bars originate in China and are brought to the legal gold market through dealers and trading houses in Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand. Moreover, such ingots could undergo repeated melting, so that the country where such gold was mined is unknown.
