The bars are made from real gold but the identifying marks are counterfeit DENIS BALIBOUSE/REUTERS The global trade in gold is beset by a forgery crisis after the discovery of $50 million worth of fake bars in bank vaults. At least 1,000 counterfeit gold kilobars, the standard 1kg size, have been found in the past three years. This is a small proportion of the quantity produced each year — between 2 million and 2.5 million — but the forgeries are increasingly sophisticated, gold refiners say. Although conventional fakes, made from cheaper metal plated with gold, are easy to detect, those with counterfeit stamps are a difficult challenge. The gold can be real, even of high purity. All four of Switzerland’s leading refiners have identified fake bars. Executives at refineries and leading bankers said they were being brought to the market…
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