|
Hey Stephen.....Where did the gold go?
Has the Mint's gold vanished?
Print
Choose text size
License this article
Was it theft or just sloppy record-keeping? Auditors launch probe
Jun 04, 2009 04:30 AM
Comments on this story (14)
Les Whittington
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA–The hunt for the gold is on. The missing gold, that is.
The world-renowned Royal Canadian Mint has called investigators to look into what could be the theft of a significant quantity of gold, silver and other precious metals.
"We're conducting a review. We've asked a third party to assist us with that and we should have the results within the next few weeks and by the end of month we'll be making them public," said mint spokeswoman Christine Aquino.
The mint won't say how much might be missing but the auditors are probing a discrepancy between the value of the precious metals on the mint's books and the stockpile on hand at its Ottawa headquarters.
Aquino said the discrepancy could be the result of anything from a heist to sloppy record-keeping.
"We review our financial statements and we decided to conduct this review," she explained.
She said an unprecedented demand for gold in 2008 put pressure on the mint's internal control systems, which led to the "unreconciled difference" between the gold on hand and the value recorded in the mint's books.
The increase in demand was due to a 352 per cent rise in production of the mint's Gold Maple Leaf coins.
In the Commons, Liberal MP Joe Volpe said the mint's problem, coupled with the Conservative government's fiscal miscalculations, could undermine Canada's reputation.
"Today we learned that gold and other precious metals are unaccounted for at the Canadian mint, and yet the police have not been called in to investigate," Volpe said. He demanded information from the government on how much gold and silver might be missing.
But Rob Merrifield, minister of state for transport, said there's no point in speculating. "The mint is a Crown corporation at arm's length from the government," he said, adding that chief executive Ian Bennett has promised a quick investigation, with results to be made public. The mint reports to Parliament through the transport minister.
There have been only a few reports of theft in its 101-year history.
___________________
| quote: | | Scott has been introduced to the rave scene, and Ecstasy, by Craig. The two of them go out on the weekends, with some of Craigs friends, and stay up all night, dancing in a drug-fueled trance. |
Last edited by Moral Hazard on Apr-26-2011 at 07:48
|
I held lead bars from a construction site similar in size, but the gold one seemed twice heavier than that
