Venezuela shipped gold worth nearly 4.14 billion Swiss francs ($5.2 billion) to Switzerland during the early years of leadership under former president Nicolas Maduro, according to customs data reviewed by Reuters.
Between 2013 and 2016, Venezuela exported 113 metric tons of gold to Switzerland, starting from the year Maduro took office. Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported that the gold originated from Venezuela’s central bank at a time when the government was actively selling reserves to support the struggling economy.
Customs records show that no gold exports were sent from Venezuela to Switzerland between 2017 and 2025, coinciding with the introduction of European Union sanctions targeting Venezuelan officials accused of human rights abuses and undermining democratic institutions. Switzerland adopted these EU sanctions in early 2018, although they did not include a blanket ban on Venezuelan gold imports.
Maduro was captured by US special forces during a raid in Caracas on January 3 and now faces charges in a New York court, including drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. Following the arrest, Swiss authorities ordered the freezing of assets linked to Maduro and 36 associates, though officials did not disclose the value or origin of the frozen funds. It remains unclear whether any of those assets are connected to the gold transfers from Venezuela’s central bank.
According to SRF, the gold was likely sent to Switzerland for refining, certification, and redistribution. Switzerland is one of the world’s leading gold-processing hubs and hosts five major refineries, making it a key destination for global bullion flows.
Venezuela’s central bank significantly reduced its gold reserves during this period as it sought to raise hard currency amid mounting United States sanctions. Rhona O’Connell, a markets analyst at StoneX, said the central bank engaged in large-scale distress selling between 2012 and 2016, with much of that gold likely routed through Switzerland.
O’Connell added that after arriving in Switzerland, the gold may have remained within the financial system or been resold as smaller bars to Asia and other global markets. She noted that exports likely dropped sharply after 2016 not only due to sanctions, but also because Venezuela’s central bank had largely depleted its gold reserves.
