From JEREMY SZAFRON
in Vancouver for Kitco News
A QUIET repatriation campaign launched by Germany more than a decade ago has now evolved into a global rethink of who controls sovereign wealth. Peter Boehringer, the architect of Germany’s gold repatriation program, says what started as a debate in one Parliament is now playing out in central banks around the world.
“I started this in 2007. For many years, I was the only one asking these questions in Parliament,” Boehringer told Kitco News. “It took six years to get an answer, and we only got moving in 2013. We brought back 674 tonnes – that was a success. But I wanted all of it back.
”Between 2013 and 2017, Germany moved 300 tonnes of gold from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and 374 tonnes from the Banque de France back to Frankfurt. The operation was one of the largest physical gold transfers by a sovereign since the end of the Bretton Woods system in 1971.
“We did not even get the original bars back,” Boehringer said. “They were melted and replaced. We had to accept that. But Fort Knox? Not even an audit in decades. It’s unacceptable.”
The U.S. claims to hold over 4,500 tonnes of gold at Fort Knox. But there hasn’t been a full independent audit since 1953. The last partial inspection was in 2017, according to the U.S. Treasury. This lack of transparency has sparked renewed scrutiny, especially from lawmakers in Germany and Austria.
“The truth is, we trusted the dollar system after World War II because we had no choice,” Boehringer said. “But it’s no longer just about trust. It’s about control. If your reserves are abroad, you don’t really own them.”
That view is now reflected in broader trends. A new 2025 survey by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) found that 70% of central banks say U.S. political instability is discouraging dollar holdings, up from 37% last year. One in three reserve managers plan to increase gold allocations in the next two years, with 40% planning to do so over the next decade.
“The central banks have failed not only economically, but morally,” Boehringer said. “We are printing money out of thin air. There is no solid foundation. The whole fiat system is not sustainable. We need something physical again.”
Spot gold is currently trading around $3,330 an ounce, up 27% year-to-date, according to Bloomberg data. Boehringer credited gold’s performance to global central bank demand, monetary debasement, and a growing awareness of “custodial risk.”
“We were once a country of monetary prudence,” Boehringer said. “Now we are debasing like everyone else. The debt brake is in the constitution, but it gets ignored. There’s no willpower.”
Germany’s debt brake, or “Schuldenbremse,” limits new federal borrowing to 0.35% of GDP. It has been suspended several times since 2020. According to the IMF, Germany’s debt-to-GDP ratio will exceed 66% by 2026 – the highest in more than a decade.
Asked whether Germany should increase its gold holdings, Boehringer said: “Yes, absolutely. We need much more. And we need it here, not abroad.”
Germany holds 3,352 tonnes of gold, making it the world’s second-largest official holder after the U.S. The Bundesbank says that as of 2023, 50.5% of that total is now stored in Frankfurt, with the rest in New York and London.
Bitcoin is sometimes cited as an alternative reserve asset. But Boehringer, a long-standing libertarian, was cautious.
“Bitcoin is interesting. I like the idea behind it. But it’s not a sovereign reserve asset,” he said. “Central banks will never trust something they can’t control.” Boehringer also dismissed the euro as a viable replacement for the dollar.
“The euro is just another fiat currency,” he said. “It’s not better than the dollar. It’s not backed. It’s not accountable. And we have no fiscal unity. That’s why the project will ultimately fail.”
Asked whether Germany could support the creation of a new gold depository inside Europe, Boehringer suggested the idea had merit – even if it remains politically sensitive.
“We can’t admit this openly,” he said. “There are no plans, officially. But the question is important.”
What would the world look like if the dollar’s share of global reserves falls from 58% to 50% by 2035, as projected by the IMF? “If the dollar drops from 58% to 50%, it means fragmentation,” Boehringer said. “And in that world, gold becomes the only common denominator.”
For voters, investors, and longtime followers of Kitco, Boehringer offered a final warning: “If the central banks are buying gold, and bringing it home, you should ask why. Don’t wait until they stop printing. By then, it’s too late.”
