Dutch banks ING and Rabobank are sounding the alarm over orders by Dutch citizens for gold from Alaska. These are so-called forward gold sales. Customers can order gold in advance that has yet to be mined and are then promised a hefty ‘discount’ of 14% on the price of gold in Europe. After purchase, customers receive a certificate and a promise to have the precious metal delivered to their home months later.

Fraud

The unsolicited approach to customers by a sales intermediary and the nature of the transactions set off alarm bells at ING and Rabobank earlier this year. The banks took fraud into account, as investigations revealed that the Dutch intermediary was involved in a criminal investigation into previous fraudulent gold sales.
In the past, ING and Bunq have been held liable by injured parties, confirms aggrieved Paul Janssen, who has started a collective to recover damages in the case.

Criminal investigation

Gold is offered in the Netherlands through Goudvoordeel.nl. The Dutch company receives a commission on every completed purchase transaction between the US company and buyers in Europe. This commission previously ran as high as 20% on similar sales.
The managing director of Gold Advantage - Iwan van Eenbergen - denies that fraud is involved. However, he does confirm that he is still a suspect in the major criminal investigation into possible fraud surrounding the companies Gold Investment and Goudkorting.nl - a predecessor of his current company Goudvoordeel.
Reading the reviews of the previous companies, we can really only conclude one thing and that is: ‘If something is too good to be true, it ís’.