A record from the Bank of England’s archive shows it transferred £5.6m of gold from Czechoslovakia on behalf of Germany's Reichsbank, following the Nazi invasion in 1939.
The gold was moved from the National Bank of Czechoslovakia's account at the central Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to an account managed on behalf of the Reichsbank.
Some of the gold was later sold in London.
The Bank produced the 10-page document, following the Second World War amid fears the bank's position had "never been thoroughly appreciated" and that "their action at the time was widely misunderstood".
It states: "On March 21, 1939, the Chief Cashier received the request to transfer about £5.6m gold from the BIS No.2 Account to their No.17 Account.
"The bank, although it was no business of theirs, was fairly sure that the No.2 Account was a Czech National Bank Account and they believed, although they were not sure at the time, that No.17 was a Reichsbank.
The amount was transferred on the same day and a small further amount on March 22.
Between March 21 and 31, the gold received on the No.17 Account was disposed of, (with) about £4m going to the National Bank of Belgium and the Nederlandsche Bank and the remainder being sold in London."
Particularly telling is the comment “although it was no business of theirs,(the Bank) was fairly sure that the No.2 Account was a Czech National Bank Account and they believed, although they were not sure at the time, that No.17 was a Reichsbank.”
That’s certainly a tried and tested defence which we’ve become used to hearing.
As recently evidenced with the Banking community it’s a case of plus ça change.
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