Fake fears over Ethiopia's gold

Fake fears over Ethiopia's gold

news.bbc.co.uk

Ethiopia's national bank has been told to inspect all the gold in its vaults to determine its authenticity.

It follows the discovery that some of the "gold" it had bought for millions of dollars was gold-plated steel.

The first hint that something was wrong reportedly came when the Ethiopian central bank exported a consignment of gold bars to South Africa.

The South Africans sent them back, complaining that they had been sold gilded steel.

An investigation revealed that the bank had bought a consignment of fake gold from a supplier, who is now under arrest.

Other arrests followed, including business associates of the main accused; national bank officials; and chemists from the Geological Survey of Ethiopia, whose job it is to assay the bank's purchases of gold and certify that they are real.

But what has clearly now got the government even more worried is that another different batch of gold in the bank's vaults has also been found to be fake, and this time it was gold which had been there for several years, after being seized from smugglers trying to take it to Djibouti.

(visit the link for the full news article)

So to add to the global economy we find out some Ethiopias gold is fake. So how many other countries should be checked out. Even our Fort Knox hasn't been seen in years.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

This seems really odd, there has to be more to the story.

Anyone that has ever handled any gold bars would know in an instant it was fake using the simplest test possible. You just have to pick up a bar and you would know it was a slug due to the density of gold.

Even plated lead would feel light compared to gold, but to use steel is a dead giveaway.

reply to post by anxietydisorder


Not much on the story but heres the same thing basicly from another news source.
www.abc.net.au...

While the price of gold is going through the roof on world bullion markets, Ethiopia's central bank is anxiously checking the contents of its vaults to see just how much "fool's gold" is in there.

Heres one that has more on the story
www.allheadlinenews.com...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (AHN) - The mystery of gold gilded steel bars and Ethiopia's national bank is still unraveling. Bank officials were ordered by parliament's budget and finance committee to inspect all the gold in the national bank's vaults after two separate deposits of gold bars were found to be fake.

The initial problem was uncovered when the bank sent a consignment of 300 kilograms, 10,582.1886 ounces of presumably 999.9 percent pure gold to South Africa. That nation tested them and found them to be gold gilded steel counterfeits.

An investigation followed along with the arrests of some banking officials, the supplier the bank purchased the bars from, associates of the supplier and chemists from the Geological Survey of Ethiopia who assay gold bars and certify them genuine.

By March 3, 19 people had been arrested in the scheme that sold gilded gold to the nation's central bank, according to All Africa news.

However, after the bank was ordered to examine all its bars, the discovery was made that a 36-kilogram gold bar in the bank's vault purchased five years ago was also fake. Setting off an investigation as to whether the bars were fake when they were bought or had somehow been switched for real gold bars inside the bank's vaults.

Some of the fake gold is up to five years old. The arrest made were on march 3. Strange its been going on since then and this is the first I have heard of it. But I guess thats the kind of thing you hide when the global economy is bad.

[edit on 15-3-2008 by JBA2848]

www.youtube.com...

Found a video on youtube from Bloomberg news.

it doesnt make sense.

You would think the banks hired gold experts to check their purchases.
You would think they would check every ounce of the gold bought.

selling fake gold is one of the oldest crimes.

reply to post by JBA2848


Surprising!

Isn't currency supposed to be based on gold?

I know the US mint keeps printing money, but where does it all go?
In the interest-bearing accounts of all the billionaires?

It feels like our money may as well be Monopoly money!



[edit on 3/15/2008 by FRIGHTENER]

Originally posted by FRIGHTENER

It feels like our money may as well be Monopoly money!

It is Monopoly money.
The money is no longer backed by gold, it's just backed by confidence in the government that printed it and the economic situation of the day, GDP, trade,etc...

Originally posted by microsoft123
it doesnt make sense.

You would think the banks hired gold experts to check their purchases.
You would think they would check every ounce of the gold bought.

selling fake gold is one of the oldest crimes.

They did. Actually, it was their own governmental Geological Survey of Ethiopia. Which also points out another common crime: robbing one's own country.:shk: