The underworld of gold

Crime, Law and Social Change

Volumn 25, Issue 3, 1996, Pages 191-241

  Naylor, R T ^a  

^a MCGILL UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 21344483401     PISSN: 09254994     EISSN: 15730751     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/BF00144647     Document Type: Article

References (28)

1. There are a variety of fine old works on the role of gold and silver in the Spanish conquest of the Americas, and the consequences. The classics are by Alex Del Mar, History of Monetary Systems. New York: 1895,
2. History of Money in America. New York: 1899
3. and History of the Precious Metals. New York: 1902.
4. A more modern and considerably drabber account is in Pierre Vilar's History of Gold and Money. London: 1976.
5. For a general survey, see Eli Heckscher's two-volume work, Mercantilism. London: 1962.
6. See Arthur L. Smith, Hitler's Gold. Oxford: 1989.
7. This stody is told by lan Sayer and Douglas Bolting, Nazi Gold. New York: 1984.
8. The story is related by Sterling Seagrave in The Marcos Dynasty. New York: 1988.
9. Whatever the truth of the story, it is intriguing that in 1995 Imelda Marcos told the London Financial Times that her late husband's fortune came legitimately from gold trading.
10. The Independent 1/11/90;
11. Sacremento Bee 2/5/93.
12. Timothy Green, The World of Gold. London: 1993, 2.
13. Timothy Green, The Prospect for Gold. London: 1987, 124.
14. The Economist 16/1/88.
15. Originally the Central Bank denied that there was any gold missing (Financial Times 15/3/86), perhaps in an effort to reassure nervous international creditors.
16. Financial Times 31/1/87. Although the actual amount may be much smaller than reported, the existence of the fund does not seem to be in doubt.
17. Financial Times 12/9/74. The amount of gold involved was estimated at nearly 900,000 ounces. Like most stories about ousted leaders, this has to be taken with, not just a grain of salt, but most of the shaker. To be sure, Selassie amassed a fortune and his control of the gold production was a large part of it, but the total amounts might well have been exaggerated by the new revolutionary regime to discredit the exiled emperor.
18. New York Times 11/4/85, 3/7/88.
19. South China Morning Post 25/7/88.
20. Part of their story is related in James Hepburn, The Black Flag. London: 1994, 175-188.
21. United States Senate, Committee on Governmental Affairs, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Emerging Criminal Groups. 17, 24/9/1986. 70, 154.
22. Los Angeles Times 12/4/90.
23. Financial Times 10/12/84 contains a slightly different and rather puzzling account of the operation.
24. See, among other sources, Pierre Auchlin and Frank Garbely, Contre-Enquête. Lausanne: 1990;
25. Jean Ziegler, La Suisse Lave Plus Blanc. Paris: 1990;
26. Peter Furhman, "The Bulgarian Connection," in Forbes 17/4/89;
27. Daniel Zuberbuhler, Enquête de la Commission fédérale des banques sur le comportement des grandes banques dans l'affaire Magharian / blanchissage d'argent "Libanon-Connection". Bern: 1989;
28. and Le Hebdo 15/8/88 11/11/88, 15,29/12/88 9, 16/2/89 2/3/89 18/5/89.