A small Caribbean island with no gold mines became a major transit point for billions of dollars worth of Venezuelan gold, much of it tainted by human rights abuses and environmental destruction, newly obtained documents reveal.
Between 2012 and 2018, a trading company based in Curaçao funneled more than 90 metric tons of gold into Europe, declaring most of it as scrap metal even though insiders later acknowledged much of it came from mines in Venezuela. The gold eventually reached one of the world’s largest refineries in Switzerland, raising serious questions about oversight in the global bullion trade.
The operation relied on a simple but effective strategy. Gold from Venezuela was shipped to Curaçao, then declared as originating from the island before being sent to Swiss refiner Argor-Heraeus. By labeling the metal as scrap rather than newly mined material, the supply chain exploited a regulatory loophole that allowed refiners to perform less stringent checks on recycled gold.
Court records, bank statements, and internal company emails obtained by journalists sketch out the scale of the operation. Invoices show that between 2012 and 2018, gold valued at $2.2 billion moved from Curaçao to the Swiss refinery.
At the time, Venezuela’s gold sector was plagued by serious problems. Following the 2011 nationalization of the industry by then-President Hugo Chavez, criminal groups and military units fought for control over mining areas. By 2016, President Nicolas Maduro had designated a massive zone for extraction, leading to widespread deforestation, mercury contamination, and documented human rights abuses including forced labor and violence.
The Curaçao trading company, Cupremeco, was set up in 2010 by a Venezuelan gold broker and an Italian businessman. According to depositions obtained by investigators, the gold was officially sold to a Swiss intermediary company before reaching Argor-Heraeus. This middleman arrangement, one broker testified in court, was designed to help the gold pass compliance checks.
Argor-Heraeus maintained that it conducted proper due diligence and that the gold it received was genuine scrap, not freshly mined material. The company said forensic testing confirmed this assessment, and that it cut ties with the supply chain in 2019 after British authorities seized a shipment linked to drug cartels.
But independent experts who reviewed refinery data told journalists the gold’s composition suggested it was a mixture of mined and recycled material. One geologist said the quantities involved could not realistically come from scrap alone.
The case highlights persistent weaknesses in how the gold industry polices itself. The London Bullion Market Association, which sets standards for the global gold trade, did not at the time require refiners to investigate beyond their immediate supplier when purchasing scrap gold. This allowed suppliers to obscure the true origin of shipments.
European authorities recently concluded that the association’s guidelines remain only partially aligned with regulations, citing ineffective internal controls.
The gold that flowed through this route ended up in everyday products including mobile phones and laptops. Major technology companies listed Argor-Heraeus as a gold supplier during the period the refinery was buying from the Curaçao operation.
The trade eventually collapsed in 2019 after British authorities seized and forfeited a shipment, prompting Argor-Heraeus to sever ties with the supply chain. By then, billions of dollars worth of Venezuelan gold had entered the global financial system, its origins effectively erased.