Investment coins, including the American Gold Eagle, are minted from this gold.
The US Mint may be involved in laundering gold of dubious origin and allegedly received metal linked to Colombia’s Clan del Golfo drug cartel message gave The New York Times. Investment coins, including the American Gold Eagle, are minted from this gold. The annual turnover of such coins exceeds 1 billion dollars.
According to the publication, the scheme begins in Colombia, where the cartel controls the illegal mine La Mandingu. Mined gold is bought by merchants in Caucasian cities, which allows the metal to be legalized on paper. Miners receive cash from $50 to $2,500 per day, after which the gold is converted into bars and exported. Over the past year, approximately $255 million worth of metal has been shipped to Texas and delivered to the Dillon Gage plant. The gold is remelted at the facility and is then considered American.
Despite a 1985 Congressional requirement to buy only American gold, a 2024 audit by the U.S. Treasury Department found that the mint had failed to verify the origin of its bullion or ask questions of its suppliers for two decades. As a result, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of foreign gold appeared in the supply chain.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “The investigation is aimed at making sure that suppliers of gold to the US Mint are complying with the law and fully fulfilling their obligations, and that the court is taking all necessary measures to protect national security.” The Ministry admitted that the complete abandonment of foreign gold will not allow to meet the demand for investment coins.
