The Central Bank of Argentina confirmed it moved a portion of the country’s gold reserves overseas, completing the “recalibration” of its accounts. However, the gold transfer has been met with skepticism, with lawmakers citing confiscation risks.
Some lawmakers have expressed dissatisfaction with the gold transfer, arguing that the Central Bank’s assets could be easily confiscated in foreign accounts.
Sergio Palazzo, Secretary General of the Banking Association, is one of those who vocally disagreed with the administration’s alleged decision to relocate its gold to London. He said the reserves could be affected by the embargo order made by Argentine debtholders. He even requested access to public information from the bank concerning the transfer.
Argentina’s central bank transfers its gold abroad
The Central Bank of Argentina relocated part of the nation’s gold from its national vaults to foreign accounts, citing the need for account rebalancing. The bank claimed that these gold relocations have not affected the cumulative volume of its reserves, retained at $4.981 billion, as reported in the balance sheet dated August 23, 2024.
However, the monetary authority has yet to provide any further details on the transfer. In a statement on Monday, the bank addressed the accusation of possible confiscation related to the embargo order, saying:
The BCRA expresses its concern about the irresponsible dissemination of information, for political purposes, related to these operations before their completion because it put the security of the assets of all Argentines at risk.
BCRA
While the bank did not confirm if any of its gold was sent to London, some have speculated the gold may have been moved to Basel, where most of the gold under the bank’s authority has been deposited for quite some time.
Moreover, Basel is home to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), which translates into some form of ‘immunity’ for the possibly relocated Argentine funds, as no embargo request could affect them.
Argentine economic minister supports gold relocation
Individuals with direct knowledge of the matter have asserted that the gold sent out overseas will be certified for financial use, which means the country could use the reserves as collateral for loans and funding.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo compared holding gold in the bank to owning unusable property, arguing that moving the reserves abroad would allow Argentina to profit significantly from the assets and generate substantial returns.
Santiago Bausili also noted that the gold transfer is reminiscent of all transfers done in the last decade. He added that the bank retained the same management provisions for its gold reserves for more than ten years, offering physical formats in bars and ingots and electrical format in accounts abroad.
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