Question to Putin admirers: Why is Russia sending planes full of gold to London?

[Baron]

At first to Siberian,

Why Putin steals Russian Gold?
Do he & his gang prepare to flee from Russia?



To avoid any misunderstandings, let’s review some facts: Russia’s gold reserves are among the largest in the world. Definitely within the top five. (In September, Reuters reported Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves were the world’s fourth-largest.) Russia is also a top gold producer.

Over the past decade or so, Russia’s gold-mongering has spawned rumors and “reports” (of wildly varying veracity) detailing how Moscow was preparing to unveil a bullion-backed ruble that would torpedo the US dollar. A more believable variant of this theory was that Moscow simply saw gold as dependable store of value as it rid itself of US Treasuries. In January, Bloomberg revealed that Russia’s “multi-year drive to reduce exposure to US assets” had resulted in its gold holdings exceeding its US dollar reserves for the first time on record.

Given Russia’s undeniable penchant for gold, it would be only logical that the Russian government, facing a dizzying array of domestic and geopolitical uncertainties that could trigger severe economic chaos, would be greedily gobbling up all the shiny bullion it could get its hands on.

For example, Pepe Escobar recently suggested Russia might accept payments for oil and gas in gold if it is disconnected from SWIFT.

Pepe Escobar @RealPepeEscobar
Imperial hawks want to disconnect Russia from SWIFT. So payments for oil and gas will immediately switch to gold. Bring it on.
December 8th 2021
265 Retweets1,089 Likes
Other analysts have made similar claims in the past weeks and months. It’s a very popular theory, this idea that Russia is fiat-phobic and is dreaming of gold, always.

Thing is: the exact opposite is true—at least for now. Russia is being drained of gold to such an unprecedented extent that lawmakers are demanding answers. Russia’s central bank stopped buying gold in April 2020, and gave the greenlight to private banks allowing them to send their gold holdings abroad:


The situation is somewhat unprecedented: nearly all the gold mined in Russia is being flown to London, the epicenter of precious metals trading.


This has been going on for nearly two years, since the start of the coronavirus crisis. In April, Economist Valentin Katasonov gave two big thumbs down to the policy, describing the Bank of Russia’s refusal to buy bullion as “golden giveaways.”

According to Finanz.ru, in October 2020, Russia’s central bank began selling its gold reserves for the first time in thirteen years.

However, according to the Bank of Russia’s website, the value of its gold holdings in USD has only gone down slightly since a year ago. So we’re not talking about a massive sell-off. In fact, gold reserves went up very slightly in November—as we understand it, because the Bank of Russia received a cut from domestic producers. It was technically not a “purchase” though.

in USD terms, no significant change from a year ago
So the obvious question is: why is Russia betraying its goldbug instincts and swapping bullion for bills?

The country decided to dip into its gold holdings due to a shortage of foreign exchange earnings resulting from the catastrophic collapse in oil and gas prices once COVID hit. (Remember when a barrel of oil was selling for negative dollars?)

After a bit of research into this issue we found the following and easy-to-understand analysis:

There are a lot of theories as to why central banks, and Russia in particular, are cutting down gold purchases, but in the case of Russia the reason is simply that they need cash, this according to Jeff Christian, managing partner of CPM Group.
“The Russian government is strapped for cash. It’s facing the pandemic that everybody else is facing, but it was slow to move on it so it’s got serious problems there. It still has sanctions, it doesn’t have a lot of foreign exchange coming in, it’s losing money on every barrel of oil that it sold in Russia,” Christian told Kitco News. It doesn’t have the money to buy gold.

The uptick in sales to London were also triggered, at least in part, by uncertainties surrounding Brexit.

So nothing nefarious, right? The international banking cartel isn’t robbing the country of its gold before Hermann Gräf and the Bank of Russia force the digital ruble and the “Sbercoin” on hapless Russians, right? Maybe.

The massive export of gold is perhaps sensible on paper—but still kind of suspicious. Especially when private banks are involved.

For example, in March 2020, more than a ton of non-government gold was flown out of Russia—and apparently in such a panicked state that they left some gold bars on the runway. We’re not even joking.


The potential for foul play became a bit more likely in June, when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law easing foreign exchange controls for gold exporters. The loosened regulations mean that sales of precious metals are now exempted from the requirement to credit the proceeds to Russian accounts. The cash can now be kept in Western banks.

As we understand it, this means gold could be mined in Russia and sold in London—with the earnings kept in euros in a Swiss bank account (for example).

Anyway, next time you’re at a cocktail party and someone mentions how Russia is scooping up all the world’s gold, for freedom, you can be that annoying person and say: “Well, actually…”

Why is Russia sending planes full of gold to London?

The State Duma wants answers as gold pours out of Russia

edwardslavsquat.substack.com

 

[1srelluc]

In these uncertain times I buy all my gold from Rosland Capital.

 

[sparky]

wtf is going on here?

~S~

 

[Baron]

wtf is going on here?

~S~

1. Probably Putin & Co will flee
2. No money anymore
3. Something else

 

[Baron]

In these uncertain times I buy all my gold from Rosland Capital.

And what will you do with your gold after 70% of the US population dies according to the Deagel forecast 2025?

 

[1srelluc]

And what will you do with your gold after 70% of the US population dies according to the Deagel forecast 2025?

You really don't get tongue-n-cheek do you?

But since you asked.....Cast it into bullets.

 

[Ringo]

If you had several billion rubles, where would you invest them? Yes, anywhere, but not to Russian factories.
So the oligarchs and the big capital of Russia do not invest their personal funds in their industry. They're not stupid Bolsheviks!
After all, the main goal of the bourgeois is profit, not the development of production.
Britain, for example, directly finances the rocking of the domestic political situation in Russia.
And Russia is sending gold there...
in my opinion, a symmetrical response...

 

[Baron]

If you had several billion rubles, where would you invest them?

The gold is stolen by Putin and his gang from Russian People.
All oligarchs ( Putin himself is the biggest one, $300bn worth ) have no legal rights for any ruble

 

[Bleipriester]

At first to Siberian,

Why Putin steals Russian Gold?
Do he & his gang prepare to flee from Russia?



To avoid any misunderstandings, let’s review some facts: Russia’s gold reserves are among the largest in the world. Definitely within the top five. (In September, Reuters reported Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves were the world’s fourth-largest.) Russia is also a top gold producer.

Over the past decade or so, Russia’s gold-mongering has spawned rumors and “reports” (of wildly varying veracity) detailing how Moscow was preparing to unveil a bullion-backed ruble that would torpedo the US dollar. A more believable variant of this theory was that Moscow simply saw gold as dependable store of value as it rid itself of US Treasuries. In January, Bloomberg revealed that Russia’s “multi-year drive to reduce exposure to US assets” had resulted in its gold holdings exceeding its US dollar reserves for the first time on record.

Given Russia’s undeniable penchant for gold, it would be only logical that the Russian government, facing a dizzying array of domestic and geopolitical uncertainties that could trigger severe economic chaos, would be greedily gobbling up all the shiny bullion it could get its hands on.

For example, Pepe Escobar recently suggested Russia might accept payments for oil and gas in gold if it is disconnected from SWIFT.

Pepe Escobar @RealPepeEscobar
Imperial hawks want to disconnect Russia from SWIFT. So payments for oil and gas will immediately switch to gold. Bring it on.
December 8th 2021
265 Retweets1,089 Likes
Other analysts have made similar claims in the past weeks and months. It’s a very popular theory, this idea that Russia is fiat-phobic and is dreaming of gold, always.

Thing is: the exact opposite is true—at least for now. Russia is being drained of gold to such an unprecedented extent that lawmakers are demanding answers. Russia’s central bank stopped buying gold in April 2020, and gave the greenlight to private banks allowing them to send their gold holdings abroad:


The situation is somewhat unprecedented: nearly all the gold mined in Russia is being flown to London, the epicenter of precious metals trading.


This has been going on for nearly two years, since the start of the coronavirus crisis. In April, Economist Valentin Katasonov gave two big thumbs down to the policy, describing the Bank of Russia’s refusal to buy bullion as “golden giveaways.”

According to Finanz.ru, in October 2020, Russia’s central bank began selling its gold reserves for the first time in thirteen years.

However, according to the Bank of Russia’s website, the value of its gold holdings in USD has only gone down slightly since a year ago. So we’re not talking about a massive sell-off. In fact, gold reserves went up very slightly in November—as we understand it, because the Bank of Russia received a cut from domestic producers. It was technically not a “purchase” though.

in USD terms, no significant change from a year ago
So the obvious question is: why is Russia betraying its goldbug instincts and swapping bullion for bills?

The country decided to dip into its gold holdings due to a shortage of foreign exchange earnings resulting from the catastrophic collapse in oil and gas prices once COVID hit. (Remember when a barrel of oil was selling for negative dollars?)

After a bit of research into this issue we found the following and easy-to-understand analysis:


The uptick in sales to London were also triggered, at least in part, by uncertainties surrounding Brexit.

So nothing nefarious, right? The international banking cartel isn’t robbing the country of its gold before Hermann Gräf and the Bank of Russia force the digital ruble and the “Sbercoin” on hapless Russians, right? Maybe.

The massive export of gold is perhaps sensible on paper—but still kind of suspicious. Especially when private banks are involved.

For example, in March 2020, more than a ton of non-government gold was flown out of Russia—and apparently in such a panicked state that they left some gold bars on the runway. We’re not even joking.


The potential for foul play became a bit more likely in June, when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law easing foreign exchange controls for gold exporters. The loosened regulations mean that sales of precious metals are now exempted from the requirement to credit the proceeds to Russian accounts. The cash can now be kept in Western banks.

As we understand it, this means gold could be mined in Russia and sold in London—with the earnings kept in euros in a Swiss bank account (for example).

Anyway, next time you’re at a cocktail party and someone mentions how Russia is scooping up all the world’s gold, for freedom, you can be that annoying person and say: “Well, actually…”

Why is Russia sending planes full of gold to London?

The State Duma wants answers as gold pours out of Russia

edwardslavsquat.substack.com

One of the sources in your doomsday post provides the answer: Increased demand

Россия продала Великобритании золото на рекордные $5 млрд

Продажи российского золота за рубеж подскочили в 2019 году в восемь раз, до $5,7 млрд, и почти весь объем был вывезен в Великобританию, следует из российских таможенных данных. Нарастить экспорт драгметалла России помог Brexit

www.rbc.ru

 

[Siberian]

Baron, I am not a Putin's admirer.
Though, I really appreciate the chane Hostory has given to us in form of having such an experienced politican in the most decisive moment of 21th century.

I fon't know why banks sell gold, there is a theory that Russian bansters transfer gold to their secret shelters outsude of Russia.

To your knoeledge.
Putin is in charge in Russia only partially.
Economy is still in hands of Yeltsin's "family", i. e. Western puppets, oligarkhs closely tied to the West.

Putin can influence economy a little, but not much. He can't remove key figures, like Chubais, minister of finance, head of central bank eyc.

let us play.
You are Putin. You have been just appointed a successor by Yeltsyn. You have no money, no real influence in economy, no own team. The country belongs to about a dozen oligarkhs and most of them are tied to Yeltsin's "family".
And even the head of your administration is the former Yeltsin's head of admibistration and a member of Yeltsin's family, eho is to watch you closely and pick topics and documents you are, allowed to see.

What will you do?

 

[Baron]

Baron, I am not a Putin's admirer.
Though, I really appreciate the chane Hostory has given to us in form of having such an experienced politican in the most decisive moment of 21th century.

I fon't know why banks sell gold, there is a theory that Russian bansters transfer gold to their secret shelters outsude of Russia.

To your knoeledge.
Putin is in charge in Russia only partially.
Economy is still in hands of Yeltsin's "family", i. e. Western puppets, oligarkhs closely tied to the West.

Putin can influence economy a little, but not much. He can't remove key figures, like Chubais, minister of finance, head of central bank eyc.

let us play.
You are Putin. You have been just appointed a successor by Yeltsyn. You have no money, no real influence in economy, no own team. The country belongs to about a dozen oligarkhs and most of them are tied to Yeltsin's "family".
And even the head of your administration is the former Yeltsin's head of admibistration and a member of Yeltsin's family, eho is to watch you closely and pick topics and documents you are, allowed to see.

What will you do?

Of course I agree with you it's not easy to take Russia from the grip of mafia and the West.
But after some years in office I would start following processes.

1. Abolishment of so-called 'democracy' as a wrong political system, practically it's the dictatorship of secret societies through corrupted sock puppets
2. Restoration of Monarchy and institutions ( e.g. Zemstwo) which give Russian People both Freedom and Prosperity
3. Support of Fundamentalist Christianity as Foundation of Society
4. Economical freedom, 90% less bureaucracy
5 Death penalty for corruption after $100, drug and mafia crimes
6. High prison sentences for proven severe crimes of economical or law enforcement matters
7 Amnesty for petty crimes, emptying of prisons by 70%
8 Absolutely Freedom of Speech and Meetings
9. Abolishment of Duma and all political parties
10 To avoid brainwashing and manipulations no corporate media anymore. Only representatives of local national majorities are to be allowed to own only one information source.
11. Prohibition of prostitution, creation of problems by purchasing of strong alcohol
12. Russian people shall be key nation in Russia
13. Completely stop of immigration from non-Christian countries, non-Russian citizens shall be send back
14. And the most important the Holy Bible as the Moral Foundation of the Society


That would be enough for the beginning

Russia shall became a Russian Monarchical State with political and economical freedom founded on the Traditional Moral and Christian values

 

[Siberian]

Of course I agree with you it's not easy to take Russia from the grip of mafia and the West.
But after some years in office I would start following processes.

1. Abolishment of so-called 'democracy' as a wrong political system, practically it's the dictatorship of secret societies through corrupted sock puppets
2. Restoration of Monarchy and institutions ( e.g. Zemstwo) which give Russian People both Freedom and Prosperity
3. Support of Fundamentalist Christianity as Foundation of Society
4. Economical freedom, 90% less bureaucracy
5 Death penalty for corruption after $100, drug and mafia crimes
6. High prison sentences for proven severe crimes of economical or law enforcement matters
7 Amnesty for petty crimes, emptying of prisons by 70%
8 Absolutely Freedom of Speech and Meetings
9. Abolishment of Duma and all political parties
10 To avoid brainwashing and manipulations no corporate media anymore. Only representatives of local national majorities are to be allowed to own only one information source.
11. Prohibition of prostitution, creation of problems by purchasing of strong alcohol
12. Russian people shall be key nation in Russia
13. Completely stop of immigration from non-Christian countries, non-Russian citizens shall be send back
14. And the most important the Holy Bible as the Moral Foundation of the Society


That would be enough for the beginning

Russia shall became a Russian Monarchical State with political and economical freedom founded on the Traditional Moral and Christian values

lol, abolishment of democracy but freedom of speech....
Baron, don't test my tolerance to young unexperience people too much...

better just observe quietly the flow of events, by ~45-50 hopefuly you will understand how power and societies function...

 

[Baron]

lol, abolishment of democracy but freedom of speech....

Do we have today the Freedom of Speech?
The 1st Amendment is dead.
Just go and look for censure on any social network or MS presstitute.

Go to Founders back.
The Freedom of Speech was holy in the US until 'shitty 'democracy' after 1968 took place.
Almost all western presstitute MS 'medias' belong to nine persons eight of whom have dual citizenship ( one of the particular country and second of Israel )

 

[Baron]

lol, abolishment of democracy but freedom of speech....
Baron, don't test my tolerance to young unexperience people too much...

better just observe quietly the flow of events, by ~45-50 hopefuly you will understand how power and societies function...

Founders were very aware of Freedom of Speech, they created Free Republics and not moronic 'democracies'

22 Quotes by the Founding Fathers on Freedom of Speech

Come check out this list of excellent quotes by the Founding Fathers on freedom of speech to see the thoughts of Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin!

genzconservative.com

What would founders do if somebody named the Holy Bible as 'Hate Speech' today.

The satanic 'democracy' is dictatorship of insane sadistic bastards through freemasons and their sock puppets good-for-nothing corrupted lying sexual deviant 'politicians' of any party.

Russia badly needs abolishment of satanic 'democracy', Economical and Political Freedom, Monarchy as governance form and Holy Bible as the Main Law

Russia today is enslaved by corrupted insane criminals and liars

 

[badbob85037]

At first to Siberian,

Why Putin steals Russian Gold?
Do he & his gang prepare to flee from Russia?



To avoid any misunderstandings, let’s review some facts: Russia’s gold reserves are among the largest in the world. Definitely within the top five. (In September, Reuters reported Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves were the world’s fourth-largest.) Russia is also a top gold producer.

Over the past decade or so, Russia’s gold-mongering has spawned rumors and “reports” (of wildly varying veracity) detailing how Moscow was preparing to unveil a bullion-backed ruble that would torpedo the US dollar. A more believable variant of this theory was that Moscow simply saw gold as dependable store of value as it rid itself of US Treasuries. In January, Bloomberg revealed that Russia’s “multi-year drive to reduce exposure to US assets” had resulted in its gold holdings exceeding its US dollar reserves for the first time on record.

Given Russia’s undeniable penchant for gold, it would be only logical that the Russian government, facing a dizzying array of domestic and geopolitical uncertainties that could trigger severe economic chaos, would be greedily gobbling up all the shiny bullion it could get its hands on.

For example, Pepe Escobar recently suggested Russia might accept payments for oil and gas in gold if it is disconnected from SWIFT.

Pepe Escobar @RealPepeEscobar
Imperial hawks want to disconnect Russia from SWIFT. So payments for oil and gas will immediately switch to gold. Bring it on.
December 8th 2021
265 Retweets1,089 Likes
Other analysts have made similar claims in the past weeks and months. It’s a very popular theory, this idea that Russia is fiat-phobic and is dreaming of gold, always.

Thing is: the exact opposite is true—at least for now. Russia is being drained of gold to such an unprecedented extent that lawmakers are demanding answers. Russia’s central bank stopped buying gold in April 2020, and gave the greenlight to private banks allowing them to send their gold holdings abroad:


The situation is somewhat unprecedented: nearly all the gold mined in Russia is being flown to London, the epicenter of precious metals trading.


This has been going on for nearly two years, since the start of the coronavirus crisis. In April, Economist Valentin Katasonov gave two big thumbs down to the policy, describing the Bank of Russia’s refusal to buy bullion as “golden giveaways.”

According to Finanz.ru, in October 2020, Russia’s central bank began selling its gold reserves for the first time in thirteen years.

However, according to the Bank of Russia’s website, the value of its gold holdings in USD has only gone down slightly since a year ago. So we’re not talking about a massive sell-off. In fact, gold reserves went up very slightly in November—as we understand it, because the Bank of Russia received a cut from domestic producers. It was technically not a “purchase” though.

in USD terms, no significant change from a year ago
So the obvious question is: why is Russia betraying its goldbug instincts and swapping bullion for bills?

The country decided to dip into its gold holdings due to a shortage of foreign exchange earnings resulting from the catastrophic collapse in oil and gas prices once COVID hit. (Remember when a barrel of oil was selling for negative dollars?)

After a bit of research into this issue we found the following and easy-to-understand analysis:


The uptick in sales to London were also triggered, at least in part, by uncertainties surrounding Brexit.

So nothing nefarious, right? The international banking cartel isn’t robbing the country of its gold before Hermann Gräf and the Bank of Russia force the digital ruble and the “Sbercoin” on hapless Russians, right? Maybe.

The massive export of gold is perhaps sensible on paper—but still kind of suspicious. Especially when private banks are involved.

For example, in March 2020, more than a ton of non-government gold was flown out of Russia—and apparently in such a panicked state that they left some gold bars on the runway. We’re not even joking.


The potential for foul play became a bit more likely in June, when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law easing foreign exchange controls for gold exporters. The loosened regulations mean that sales of precious metals are now exempted from the requirement to credit the proceeds to Russian accounts. The cash can now be kept in Western banks.

As we understand it, this means gold could be mined in Russia and sold in London—with the earnings kept in euros in a Swiss bank account (for example).

Anyway, next time you’re at a cocktail party and someone mentions how Russia is scooping up all the world’s gold, for freedom, you can be that annoying person and say: “Well, actually…”

Why is Russia sending planes full of gold to London?

The State Duma wants answers as gold pours out of Russia

edwardslavsquat.substack.com

Stand them on their heads they all look the same. Clinton sold us out to China, Obama sold us out to Islam, Joe sold us out to anybody and everybody getting rich. Why do you think he wants a ban on semi auto rifles that kill less than bare hand. But Putin does it and it's bad. What a hypocrite It's a little bit funny when all our traitors have yet to spend 10 seconds in jail and even the old ones still steal billions

 

[Litwin]

1. Probably Putin & Co will flee
2. No money anymore
3. Something else

he will for sure

 

[justoffal]

At first to Siberian,

Why Putin steals Russian Gold?
Do he & his gang prepare to flee from Russia?



To avoid any misunderstandings, let’s review some facts: Russia’s gold reserves are among the largest in the world. Definitely within the top five. (In September, Reuters reported Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves were the world’s fourth-largest.) Russia is also a top gold producer.

Over the past decade or so, Russia’s gold-mongering has spawned rumors and “reports” (of wildly varying veracity) detailing how Moscow was preparing to unveil a bullion-backed ruble that would torpedo the US dollar. A more believable variant of this theory was that Moscow simply saw gold as dependable store of value as it rid itself of US Treasuries. In January, Bloomberg revealed that Russia’s “multi-year drive to reduce exposure to US assets” had resulted in its gold holdings exceeding its US dollar reserves for the first time on record.

Given Russia’s undeniable penchant for gold, it would be only logical that the Russian government, facing a dizzying array of domestic and geopolitical uncertainties that could trigger severe economic chaos, would be greedily gobbling up all the shiny bullion it could get its hands on.

For example, Pepe Escobar recently suggested Russia might accept payments for oil and gas in gold if it is disconnected from SWIFT.

Pepe Escobar @RealPepeEscobar
Imperial hawks want to disconnect Russia from SWIFT. So payments for oil and gas will immediately switch to gold. Bring it on.
December 8th 2021
265 Retweets1,089 Likes
Other analysts have made similar claims in the past weeks and months. It’s a very popular theory, this idea that Russia is fiat-phobic and is dreaming of gold, always.

Thing is: the exact opposite is true—at least for now. Russia is being drained of gold to such an unprecedented extent that lawmakers are demanding answers. Russia’s central bank stopped buying gold in April 2020, and gave the greenlight to private banks allowing them to send their gold holdings abroad:


The situation is somewhat unprecedented: nearly all the gold mined in Russia is being flown to London, the epicenter of precious metals trading.


This has been going on for nearly two years, since the start of the coronavirus crisis. In April, Economist Valentin Katasonov gave two big thumbs down to the policy, describing the Bank of Russia’s refusal to buy bullion as “golden giveaways.”

According to Finanz.ru, in October 2020, Russia’s central bank began selling its gold reserves for the first time in thirteen years.

However, according to the Bank of Russia’s website, the value of its gold holdings in USD has only gone down slightly since a year ago. So we’re not talking about a massive sell-off. In fact, gold reserves went up very slightly in November—as we understand it, because the Bank of Russia received a cut from domestic producers. It was technically not a “purchase” though.

in USD terms, no significant change from a year ago
So the obvious question is: why is Russia betraying its goldbug instincts and swapping bullion for bills?

The country decided to dip into its gold holdings due to a shortage of foreign exchange earnings resulting from the catastrophic collapse in oil and gas prices once COVID hit. (Remember when a barrel of oil was selling for negative dollars?)

After a bit of research into this issue we found the following and easy-to-understand analysis:


The uptick in sales to London were also triggered, at least in part, by uncertainties surrounding Brexit.

So nothing nefarious, right? The international banking cartel isn’t robbing the country of its gold before Hermann Gräf and the Bank of Russia force the digital ruble and the “Sbercoin” on hapless Russians, right? Maybe.

The massive export of gold is perhaps sensible on paper—but still kind of suspicious. Especially when private banks are involved.

For example, in March 2020, more than a ton of non-government gold was flown out of Russia—and apparently in such a panicked state that they left some gold bars on the runway. We’re not even joking.


The potential for foul play became a bit more likely in June, when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law easing foreign exchange controls for gold exporters. The loosened regulations mean that sales of precious metals are now exempted from the requirement to credit the proceeds to Russian accounts. The cash can now be kept in Western banks.

As we understand it, this means gold could be mined in Russia and sold in London—with the earnings kept in euros in a Swiss bank account (for example).

Anyway, next time you’re at a cocktail party and someone mentions how Russia is scooping up all the world’s gold, for freedom, you can be that annoying person and say: “Well, actually…”

Why is Russia sending planes full of gold to London?

The State Duma wants answers as gold pours out of Russia

edwardslavsquat.substack.com

It's unimportant...gold like paper money is also a fiat....it's worth whatever they say it's worth.

 

[miketx]

At first to Siberian,

Why Putin steals Russian Gold?
Do he & his gang prepare to flee from Russia?



To avoid any misunderstandings, let’s review some facts: Russia’s gold reserves are among the largest in the world. Definitely within the top five. (In September, Reuters reported Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves were the world’s fourth-largest.) Russia is also a top gold producer.

Over the past decade or so, Russia’s gold-mongering has spawned rumors and “reports” (of wildly varying veracity) detailing how Moscow was preparing to unveil a bullion-backed ruble that would torpedo the US dollar. A more believable variant of this theory was that Moscow simply saw gold as dependable store of value as it rid itself of US Treasuries. In January, Bloomberg revealed that Russia’s “multi-year drive to reduce exposure to US assets” had resulted in its gold holdings exceeding its US dollar reserves for the first time on record.

Given Russia’s undeniable penchant for gold, it would be only logical that the Russian government, facing a dizzying array of domestic and geopolitical uncertainties that could trigger severe economic chaos, would be greedily gobbling up all the shiny bullion it could get its hands on.

For example, Pepe Escobar recently suggested Russia might accept payments for oil and gas in gold if it is disconnected from SWIFT.

Pepe Escobar @RealPepeEscobar
Imperial hawks want to disconnect Russia from SWIFT. So payments for oil and gas will immediately switch to gold. Bring it on.
December 8th 2021
265 Retweets1,089 Likes
Other analysts have made similar claims in the past weeks and months. It’s a very popular theory, this idea that Russia is fiat-phobic and is dreaming of gold, always.

Thing is: the exact opposite is true—at least for now. Russia is being drained of gold to such an unprecedented extent that lawmakers are demanding answers. Russia’s central bank stopped buying gold in April 2020, and gave the greenlight to private banks allowing them to send their gold holdings abroad:


The situation is somewhat unprecedented: nearly all the gold mined in Russia is being flown to London, the epicenter of precious metals trading.


This has been going on for nearly two years, since the start of the coronavirus crisis. In April, Economist Valentin Katasonov gave two big thumbs down to the policy, describing the Bank of Russia’s refusal to buy bullion as “golden giveaways.”

According to Finanz.ru, in October 2020, Russia’s central bank began selling its gold reserves for the first time in thirteen years.

However, according to the Bank of Russia’s website, the value of its gold holdings in USD has only gone down slightly since a year ago. So we’re not talking about a massive sell-off. In fact, gold reserves went up very slightly in November—as we understand it, because the Bank of Russia received a cut from domestic producers. It was technically not a “purchase” though.

in USD terms, no significant change from a year ago
So the obvious question is: why is Russia betraying its goldbug instincts and swapping bullion for bills?

The country decided to dip into its gold holdings due to a shortage of foreign exchange earnings resulting from the catastrophic collapse in oil and gas prices once COVID hit. (Remember when a barrel of oil was selling for negative dollars?)

After a bit of research into this issue we found the following and easy-to-understand analysis:


The uptick in sales to London were also triggered, at least in part, by uncertainties surrounding Brexit.

So nothing nefarious, right? The international banking cartel isn’t robbing the country of its gold before Hermann Gräf and the Bank of Russia force the digital ruble and the “Sbercoin” on hapless Russians, right? Maybe.

The massive export of gold is perhaps sensible on paper—but still kind of suspicious. Especially when private banks are involved.

For example, in March 2020, more than a ton of non-government gold was flown out of Russia—and apparently in such a panicked state that they left some gold bars on the runway. We’re not even joking.


The potential for foul play became a bit more likely in June, when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law easing foreign exchange controls for gold exporters. The loosened regulations mean that sales of precious metals are now exempted from the requirement to credit the proceeds to Russian accounts. The cash can now be kept in Western banks.

As we understand it, this means gold could be mined in Russia and sold in London—with the earnings kept in euros in a Swiss bank account (for example).

Anyway, next time you’re at a cocktail party and someone mentions how Russia is scooping up all the world’s gold, for freedom, you can be that annoying person and say: “Well, actually…”

Why is Russia sending planes full of gold to London?

The State Duma wants answers as gold pours out of Russia

edwardslavsquat.substack.com

Why do you believe anything the media tells you?