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You can't trust the "#Australian" brand anymore.
"The historic Perth #Mint is facing a potential $9 billion recall of gold bars after selling #diluted or "doped" #bullion to China and then covering it up, according to a leaked internal report.
Four Corners has uncovered documents charting the WA #government-owned mint's decision to begin "#doping" its gold in 2018, and then how it withheld #evidence from its largest client in an effort to protect its reputation.
While the gold remained above broader industry standards, the report estimated up to 100 tonnes of gold sent to Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) potentially did not comply with Shanghai's strict purity standards for silver content.
One Perth Mint insider, who asked not to be named as they could face five years' jail if their identity is revealed, says it is a "#scandal of the highest level".
"I don't know if I've ever seen one this big," they say.
The mint is the largest processor of newly mined gold in the world, one of Perth's top tourist attractions and well known for producing commemorative coins to mark everything from royal weddings to a new James Bond film.
Last year alone it sold $20.3 billion in gold. It is the only mint in the world that has a government #guarantee.
But in recent years the 124-year-old institution, officially known as Gold Corporation, has been plagued by a series of scandals.
WA Premier Mark McGowan had ministerial responsibility for the mint for four years until March 2021.
The mint began doping its gold as a cost-saving measure in 2018, expecting to save up to $620,000 a year — a tiny fraction of its annual sales.
Within two years this desire to save money would put the mint at the centre of what may be one of the biggest gold scandals in Australian history.
From the outset there were signs of trouble. Just months after the doping began, the report says refinery staff identified concerns that silver and copper levels may have exceeded those allowed by the SGE.
Despite this, refinery staff continued doping the gold.
The doping program began to unravel in September 2021. Shanghai Gold Exchange alleged two bars contained too much silver and were non-compliant with its specifications.
Fearing a major blow to its reputation, an internal investigation was ordered on the same day the complaint was received.
The investigation made clear just how much was on the line if the SGE went public.
"If SGE – Gold Corporation's pre-eminent exchange client – had made public that they had issues with Gold Corporation bars … the impact of negative public statements on the business could be very significant," the internal report said.
It then laid out just how large the problem was.
"Based on average understandings of volumes … it was possible for up to 100 tonnes of stock to be recalled from the Shanghai Gold Exchange for replacement," the report said.
...
In the end the SGE chose not to make its complaint public and accepted assurances around quality from the mint. The mint agreed certificates of assay would accompany all bars sent to the SGE in the future.
The longer-term damage to the mint's reputation stands to be far greater.
"Potentially you'll get gold buyers in the market going, 'Can we trust anything coming out of the Perth Mint? Including coins, bullion, anything?'," the insider says.
"It happened in the first place because of poor systems management and incompetence on the refining side. But once they found it, they knew what they were doing. They took deliberate actions to ensure this didn't get out."
This is the latest scandal to hit the mint, after it was investigated by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) in 2020 over gold purchased from a convicted killer in Papua New Guinea.
The mint was forced to adopt a "corrective action plan" after the PNG gold was revealed to have been cut with mercury and mined with the help of child labour.
The mint kept its accreditation, but the LBMA says it "reserves the right to re-visit" the issue "if new information … becomes available".
The other headache for the mint is an ongoing investigation by financial crime regulator, AUSTRAC, into its compliance with Australia's anti-money-laundering laws.
It could be facing a hefty fine, potentially running into the hundreds of millions of dollars, like those levied on Australian banks and casinos in recent years.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023 ... r-corners/102048622 |
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发表于 2023-3-6 21:08:09
