Gold Industry Shaken as 83 Tons of Fake Gold Bars Used to Secure $2 Billion Loans in China

[Eric J (Viking)]

Certainly interesting times...

Gold Industry Shaken as 83 Tons of Fake Gold Bars Used to Secure $2 Billion Loans in China

The gold industry has been shaken after it was discovered that 83 tons of fake gold bars have been used as collateral for loans worth 20 billion yuan from 14 financial institutions to a major gold jewelry manufacturer in Wuhan, China. This amount of gold “would be equivalent to 22% of China’s annual gold production and 4.2% of the state gold reserve as of 2019.”

https://news.bitcoin.com/gold-industry-83-tons-fake-gold-bars-secure-2-billion-loans-china/

Viking

[shaberon]

That is kind of a lot.

Article says that Kingold Jewelry used the bars as collateral for monetary loans.

Someone is asleep at the wheel. These bars are usually numbered, signed/sealed/delivered, protected by armored cars and machine guns. So people accept them without blinking.

It takes all of about thirty seconds to "verify" such a thing--or even less, a gilded copper alloy is probably discernable by touch.

The implication is that the jewelry company made them. If I send gold to a foundry, they will return it to me in any size slugs or bars. Miners do not usually do it. So either Kingold made it--which it sounds like they have motive--or it should be easy to see where it came from.

I do not know if it is worse than the "no gold" supposedly in the Federal Reserve, but, that is pretty big, and/or thoroughly incompetent.