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Argentina Central Bank gold derivative controversy

Updated 3 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-10-19 15:02 UTC → 2026-10-20 01:30 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Auditoría General de la Nación (AGN) reported that the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) incurred losses of approximately 1,023 million USD from gold-linked derivative operations. The audit specified that 960 million USD resulted from negative outcomes, while 62.8 million USD was attributed to option premiums. This finding triggered political and financial debate, with critics alleging speculative behavior and illegal malpractice, while supporters argued the operations were legitimate hedging strategies. Following the audit, the BCRA and the national government characterized the AGN findings as having a “purely political” intent, asserting that the bank’s gold positions actually yielded a net gain of US$2.5 billion. However, the BCRA has refused to disclose the identities of specific counterparties or provide certain transaction contracts to the AGN. Legal scrutiny has intensified as lawyer Gregorio Dalbón expanded a criminal complaint regarding the 2025 gold derivative operations. The filing requests the seizure or forensic copying of institutional servers and emails to investigate potential fraudulent administration, abuse of authority, and breach of official duties. The complaint targets Economy Minister Luis Caputo, BCRA President Santiago Bausili, and other high-ranking ~~officials.~~ officials, including Juan Ernesto Curutchet and Nicolás Marcelo Ferro. Deutsche Bank has been identified as a counterparty and intermediary in the transfer of Argentine gold reserves to the United Kingdom to facilitate repo operations. This has raised ethical concerns and legislative questions due to the previous high-level roles held by Caputo and Bausili at the German institution. The reported loss is attributed to the bank selling the right to purchase gold at prices near $3,000 per ounce, while market prices rose above $4,000.

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