en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_laundering
3 corrections found
Colombia reported 70 tons of gold exports for 2012 despite production of only 15 tons.
Colombia’s 2012 gold production was not 15 tons. Official Colombian mining data puts 2012 gold production at about 66.2 metric tons.
Full reasoning
This sentence gets Colombia’s 2012 gold production badly wrong. Official data from Colombia’s Agencia Nacional de Minería (ANM) lists 2012 gold production as 66,222,186 grams, i.e. about 66.2 metric tons, not 15 tons. An OECD report on Colombia’s gold supply chain likewise says that, according to official figures, Colombian gold production was approximately 65 tonnes in 2012.
So while there were well-documented concerns about discrepancies between Colombian production and export figures, the specific claim that Colombia exported about 70 tons in 2012 despite producing only 15 tons is incorrect. The 15-ton figure appears to confuse total national production with a narrower subset such as formal, traceable, or otherwise reported production in a particular context.
2 sources
- Agencia Nacional de Minería (ANM) – Explotación de Minerales 2012–2022
Vigencias 2012 – 2022 ... Oro | Gramos | 66.222.186 | 55.968.654 | 57.895.497 ...
- OECD – Due diligence in Colombia's gold supply chain
According to official figures, Colombian gold production achieved approximately 65 tonnes in 2012 ...
On 22 November 2000, the World Jewish Congress lawsuit against Swiss banks was settled
November 22, 2000 was not when the Swiss-banks case was settled. The $1.25 billion settlement was reached in August 1998; November 22, 2000 was the approval of the allocation/distribution plan.
Full reasoning
This sentence mixes up the settlement itself with a later distribution ruling.
Credible sources consistently describe the $1.25 billion Swiss banks settlement as having been reached in August 1998. The U.S. State Department’s overview says that "In August 1998, the parties reached an agreement to settle the lawsuits for U.S.$1.25 billion." The federal court’s own Final Order and Judgment then shows that the settlement agreement received final court approval on August 9, 2000.
By contrast, November 22, 2000 refers to Judge Korman’s later approval of the plan of allocation and distribution of the settlement proceeds—not the date the lawsuit itself was settled. Claims Conference’s overview states exactly that: Judge Korman approved the plan of allocation and distribution on November 22, 2000.
So the article’s date is incorrect for the act of "settling" the case.
3 sources
- U.S. Department of State – Swiss Bank Settlement
In August 1998, the parties reached an agreement to settle the lawsuits for U.S.$1.25 billion.
- United States District Court, E.D.N.Y. – Final Order and Judgment in re Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation
A Memorandum & Order was filed on July 26, 2000 ... granting final approval of the Settlement Agreement ... Brooklyn, New York, August 9, 2000.
- Claims Conference – Swiss Banks Settlement
Judge Korman approved the plan of allocation and distribution on November 22, 2000.
American Overseas Special Services
This is the wrong name for the U.S. wartime intelligence agency. The relevant organization was the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), not “American Overseas Special Services.”
Full reasoning
The article names a U.S. wartime intelligence body called "American Overseas Special Services", but the historical agency involved in these records was the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
National Archives finding aids for the relevant record group identify these materials as Records of the Office of Strategic Services (Record Group 226). A Bank of Canada historical report discussing the same wartime gold-tracking records also says that the Office of Strategic Services in the United States monitored gold flows out of Germany, and it refers to intelligence reports about Portuguese gold accounts at the Swiss National Bank.
In other words, the article’s agency name is not the historical name used by the archival and historical sources for these documents.
3 sources
- National Archives – Records of the Office of Strategic Services (RG 226): Entry 214
Records of the Office of Strategic Services (RG 226): Entry 214 ... The gold smuggled out of Portugal was thought to be part of the up to 1,400,000 pounds of gold originally shipped from the Swiss National Bank in Bern to both Portugal and Spain.
- U.S. Government finding aid – Records of the Office of Strategic Services (RG 226)
Records of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), was established by a military order of June 13, 1942 ...
- Bank of Canada – Bank of Canada's Report on Foreign Gold During World War II
The British Ministry of Economic Warfare and the newly created Office of Strategic Services in the United States began to monitor gold flows out of Germany.