Venezuela shipped over 100 tons of gold to Switzerland

By Reuters January 7, 2026 | 01:41 am PT

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro touches a gold bar as he speaks during a meeting at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, March 22, 2018. Photo by Reuters

Venezuela transported 113 metric tons of gold to Switzerland from 2013 to 2016, according to customs data reviewed by Reuters.

The gold originated from Venezuela's central bank, Swiss broadcaster SRF said, at a time when the government was selling down gold to support its economy.

The gold was worth almost 4.14 billion Swiss francs (US$5.20 billion) and transported during the early years of the leadership of President Nicolas Maduro.

"There was big distress selling by the Venezuelan central bank from 2012 to 2016. A lot of this will have come to Switzerland," said Rhona O'Connell, a markets analyst at StoneX.

"Thereafter it could have stayed with counterparties in the financial sector, or sold as small bars to Asia, or anywhere in the world."

There were no gold exports from Venezuela to Switzerland from 2017, when EU sanctions were imposed, to 2025, customs data showed.

"There was probably a major drop-off in exports after because the Venezuelan central bank simply ran out of gold," said StoneX's O'Connell.

Maduro was seized by U.S. special forces in a raid in Caracas on Jan. 3, and faces drugs charges in a New York court.

On Monday, Switzerland ordered the freezing of assets held in the country by Maduro, and 36 associates, but did not give any information on possible value or source of such funds.