Riksbank investigates acquisitions of gold during world war II

The Riksbank has decided to institute an inquiry into the circumstances under which the Riksbank acquired gold during World War II. The Riksbank wishes to obtain as clear a picture as possible of the circumstances under which the Bank acquired gold from Nazi Germany.

"There is reason to undertake a renewed examination of the Riksbank's archives to investigate whether they contain additional information that throws light on the Riksbank's acquisition of so-called looted gold," Robert Sparve, Chief Legal Counsellor at the Riksbank, says in a comment.

The question has been raised again in that, in the light of British information, the World Jewish Congress has called for details about such gold in the neutral states, primarily Switzerland. The World Council Chairman recently took up the matter with the Swedish government.

The inquiry is to be conducted by one to three persons who have no connections with the Riksbank. They are to be appointed by the Governor of the Riksbank and their work should be completed in the first half of 1997.

In the closing stages of World War II the Allies warned the neutral countries about accepting gold from Germany as payment for exports of goods. After the war, an inquiry was carried out in Sweden and gold that could be presumed to have been looted was returned. The Riksbank returned 7.1 tonnes of gold to Banque Nationale de Belgique in 1949 and about 6 tonnes to De Nederlandsche Bank in 1955.

SVERIGES RIKSBANK