WILLEMSTAD – New details from an international investigative report show that Curacao served as a major transit point for tens of thousands of tons of gold of Venezuelan origin that ultimately entered global markets, despite the island having no domestic gold mines or registered gold imports.
The investigation, coordinated by Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), IrpiMedia and Armando.info, examined hundreds of confidential documents including invoices, bank records and logistics emails. It found that between 2012 and 2018 more than 90 tonnes of gold, with an estimated value of 3 billion US dollars, were moved through Curacao to European refineries, particularly in Switzerland, under the guise of “scrap gold”.
Curacao’s unique position — geographically close to Venezuela and home to a free trade zone in Willemstad — made it a favored hub for intermediaries involved in these commercial movements. Documents show that a company based in Curacao, Curacao Precious Metals & Co (Cupremeco), was central to this flow. Although the island’s authorities in 2019 banned Venezuelan gold imports over concerns about crime and money-laundering links, records indicate that gold shipments continued to depart Curacao well before that prohibition.
Experts point out that Curacao’s status as a transit point for precious metals with no legitimate mining activity raised regulatory concerns. Alan Martin, director of ethical sourcing at the London Bullion Market Association, told investigators that the high volume of gold passing through Curacao could not be explained by lawful recycling activity alone.
The investigation highlights broader questions about how global supply chains classify and move precious metals, and how a Caribbean island with strong logistical connections became woven into a complex network that funneled Venezuelan gold into major refineries abroad.