Questions have been asked in parliament about the location and value of the country’s gold reserves, most of which is said to be in foreign vaults, news agency ANP reports on Wednesday.



The Netherlands is said to have 612 tonnes of gold, with a value of some €24bn. Just 10% of it is held at the central bank headquarters in Amsterdam. The rest is in bank vaults in the US, Canada and Britain.

Socialist and Christian Democrat MPs are now asking if it is sensible to keep the gold abroad and want to know how pure the gold bars actually are.

The questions follow a decision by Germany’s Bundesbank to carry out a formal inspection of its gold reserves, most of which is being held in other countries.

The gold, a central bank investment, is the ‘last ditch reserve’ at times of great crisis, ANP said.



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