The world can sleep in peace

The U.S. federal government is completing an audit of gold bullion stored in a dungeon beneath the Federal Reserve building on Wall Street in New York City.

The audit involves drilling small holes in several hundred bullion bars to check their assay. The audit will help put an end to conspiracy theories, as some believe the billions of dollars in bullion have been stolen, like in the movie Die Hard, while others believe the gold is being used in shady government deals. It has even caught the attention of politicians such as Congressman Ron Paul and members of the German Parliament.
The Treasury Department declined to disclose the deficiencies identified, and announced that the results of the audit would be announced by the end of the year. But, as one former high-ranking Fed official said, it is already known that all the gold is safe. The Treasury audit, including sampling, is a first for the New York Fed. Already the gold held at Ft. Knox, West Point and the U.S. Mint in Denver. These three locations hold 95% of the nation's bullion.
The New York Fed dungeon holds $21 billion in gold bullion. There are also bullion from three dozen other countries and organizations, including the International Monetary Fund. In all, about 23% of the world's official gold reserve is held in central bank vaults.
But some are not satisfied with such an audit. For example, Congressman Ron Paul, the Republican presidential candidate, favors an independent audit.
He is not alone. In Germany, some politicians are calling for the "repatriation" of the country's foreign exchange reserves and a return to the gold standard, because the euro has an uncertain future. Germany has the world's second-largest gold reserves, most of which are held in central banks in New York, London and Paris. The German government supports this placement of the gold reserve, but some do not share this view and question the safety and security of gold bullion outside the country.

Based on foreign press for ForTrader.org