Gold reserves are a key component of central banking and are pivotal to the backing of and supporting a country’s currency, both for its domestic economy and foreign trade.
For decades, Russia has been increasing their gold reserves and central bank holdings.
The reported amounts of gold held in reserves have varied depending on the source.
The amount of gold actually held inside Fort Knox has been question asked by Congress many times. The answer is always the same. That’s classified.
Recent economic sanctions against Russia includes a ban from participating in the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), a global clearinghouse and trading association for large bullion transactions.
As early response to the economic war waged by the NATO allies, Russia began a program to buy gold from citizens in exchange for Rubles, effectively returning to a partial gold-standard.
The gold for Rubles program also helped to stabilize the value of the Russian Ruble in the international currency and exchange markets like FOREX.
The latest strategic move by Russia in the fight against the economic sanctions, Russia’s Finance Minister has announced that they will introduce a new “Moscow World Standard” as a new alternative to the LBMA.
According to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, the Moscow World Standard is an attempt to stabilize and normalize the functioning of the precious metals industry.
Russia has positioned the new Moscow World Standard as an alternative to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) whose credibility in the eyes of the world leaders has been rocked in recent years due to a number of scandals involving price manipulation.
The most recent scandal involves the criminal conviction of Michael Nowak, a prominent LBMA Board member who was outsted from his role with the LBMA following his arrest in 2019.
Nowak was also a top executive at JP Morgan Chase.
In his leadership role as the Managing Director of the Precious Metals Trading Desk, a key position overseeing global trading operations which led to billions in profits to both JP Morgan Chase’s top and bottom lines.
Nowak was charged under the RICO Act. The government had enough hard evidence to support a case that Nowak was the kingpin in charge of a wide-spread criminal organization operating inside the JP Morgan Chase for almost a decade.
Numerous other executives from inside the JP Morgan Chase Precious Metals Group have also been convicted or have pled guilty for their roles and received reduced sentences in exchange for their testimony against the others.
Separate, but Related criminal investigations against other bullion trading banks and trading practices have led to guilty pleas and massive fines in recent years.
Ample evidence exists to support the Russian position that the LBMA and members of the organization have been involved in widespread fraud, price manipulation and exploitation at all levels. The reality is that this type of corruption can and does have long-term effects on the ebbs and flows of the economies in many smaller countries where precious metals are mined, but also some of the other elements such as Lithium, Cobalt and Magnesium which are considered essential and “critical elements” for current battery technology.
Many of the smaller BRICS countries already look to China and Russia for guidance, leadership and assistance on many financial policy decisions due to long-standing and established trading relationships and other international treaties that exclude many NATO countries. As many leaders from these countries have likely encountered difficulties when working within the confines of the system set forth by the LBMA Board of Directors.
Russia has been suggesting greater transparency to some degree for leaders of BRICS nations, many of whom have significant mining operations that are controlled through large private banks and companies affiliated with the LBMA.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/jp-morgan-gold-trading-boss-former-lbma-board-member-found-guilty-us-jury
https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/ronan-manly/lbma-board-member-jp-morgan-managing-director-charged-with-rigging-precious-metals/
https://www.sprottmoney.com/blog/The-Convicted-Criminals-of-JP-Morgan-Craig-Hemke-August-16-2022