An old cutting of newspaper is getting viral on social media sites. The headline of the newspaper- “RBI’s 200 tonnes of gold sent abroad and 268 tons pledged, Modi government kept the whole matter confidential.”
Social media users are claiming that the Modi government has deposited 268 tonnes of India’s gold Abroad.
Source: Twitter
Source: Twitter
Fact Check:
To analyze the originality of the viral claim the team of DFRAC did a reverse image search on google and found that a similar claim was done by the official account of Congress on May 2, 2019. The caption- “Did the Modi government secretly transport 200 tonnes of RBI’s gold to Switzerland in 2014? ‘What did the government get in return for exchanging the gold? Why is the information about the transaction not available in the public domain?’”
Source: Twitter
On further analysis of the viral picture, the team found an article by the National President Janta Party Navneet Kumar Chaturvedi published on May 1, 2019. The headline- “The missing 200mt gold from reserve bank exclusive story Navneet Chaturvedi”.
Source: Linkedin.com
The team looked for RBI records about the 268.01 tons of gold. We found the half-yearly report management of Foreign Exchange Reserves on October-March 2017- 2018.
Source: RBIdocs
Meanwhile, RBI clarifies on safe custody of its gold reserves- the post stated, “We have come across reports in certain sections of the prints and social media regarding RBI shifting abroad a part of its gold holding in 2014. It is normal practice for Central Banks the world over, to keep their gold reserves overseas with Central Banks of other countries like the Bank of England for safe custody. It is further stated that no gold was shifted by the RBI from India to other countries in 2014 or thereafter.
Source: RBI.org
Conclusion:
It is clear from the verification of DFRAC that the viral claim that the Modi government deposited 200/268 tons of RBI’s gold abroad is misleading. Because the RBI stated that no gold was shifted by the RBI from India to other Countries in 2014 or thereafter.
Claim Reviewed: Modi government deposited the country’s 268 tons of gold abroad secretly
Claimed By: Social Media Users
Fact Check: Misleading
