Deep in the Swiss Alps resides a bunker that holds one of the world’s largest stashes of gold for private clients. Protected by guard in a bulletproof vest, the entrance is set into a granite mountain face where it takes a code, iris scan, and facial-recognition screen to enter. The demand for gold storage has increased since the 2008 financial crisis. Further, Swiss storage operations do not have to report suspicious transactions to federal regulators, and Americans are not required to declare gold stored in foreign financial institutions. While Swiss bank accounts are not a secret anymore, gold storage still flies under the radar.
See Hugo Miller & Stephanie Baker, Secret Alpine Gold Vaults Are the New Swiss Bank Accounts, Bloomberg, September 30, 2016.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
