Russian gold worth billions of dollars have secretly changed hands in high-security bank vaults in London, Zurich, and New York in recent months in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian bullion worth a total of $2. 2 billion at current prices was taken out of 11 Western investment funds’ accounts between July and November, according to data.
As investors withdrew from bullion due to rising interest rates, funds holding gold have decreased recently. However, sanctions prevent funds from holding fresh gold from Russia, one of the world’s top producers, which mines about 330 tonnes annually, or $19 billion at today’s prices.
Russian bullion made for 7% of the 11 funds’ bullion in late November, down from 7.8%. The proportion of Russian gold in the stockpiles of many large exchange-traded funds has fallen between July and November.
