Why Are Countries Repatriating Their Gold?
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For decades, a significant portion of many countries’ gold was stored in vaults located in the United States. It was a logical practice: after World War II, New York established itself as the world’s leading financial center, and the Federal Reserve offered security, stability, and ease of conducting international transactions. However, something has begun to change. In recent years, several nations have decided to repatriate their gold reserves and bring them back home. What is behind this trend?
The Gold That Crossed the Atlantic
Following the creation of the Bretton Woods system in 1944—which tied the value of countries’ currencies to the U.S. dollar, while the dollar itself was directly convertible into gold—numerous central banks moved part of their gold reserves to the United States. Keeping gold close to the heart of the international financial system facilitated transactions between countries and provided protection in a world marked by geopolitical tensions. During the Cold War, storing gold outside national territory was also viewed as a prudent measure against potential conflicts or invasions.
France: The Historical Precedent
One of the most emblematic cases occurred in the 1960s. Under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle, France began questioning the international monetary system’s growing dependence on the U.S. dollar.
The French government decided to convert part of its dollar holdings into gold and move significant quantities of the metal back to French territory. The move was interpreted as a sign of distrust in the monetary system of the time and foreshadowed the tensions that would eventually lead to the end of the gold standard in 1971.
The US $300 Billion Catalyst
After several decades of relative calm, the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022 marked a turning point: the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other G7 members agreed to freeze nearly US$300 billion in Russian sovereign assets held within their jurisdictions.
Central banks around the world went on high alert: any asset stored in foreign jurisdictions carried significant political risk. If diplomatic relations with Washington deteriorated, their wealth could potentially be frozen overnight.
As a result of this new geopolitical environment, marked by deepening distrust among nations, a new wave of asset repatriation began—gradually, but almost immediately—particularly involving gold. The key reasons behind this phenomenon are:
Sanctions risk: Nations want to separate their physical wealth from the jurisdictions of Europe and the United States and from the possibility of asset freezes.
De-dollarization: Central banks are actively diversifying away from the U.S. dollar system and U.S. Treasury securities.
Political unpredictability: Recent changes in U.S. leadership and foreign policy have made keeping gold in New York vaults appear increasingly risky, both for traditional allies and non-aligned nations.
Absolute control: Storing gold domestically guarantees immediate and uninterrupted access during a global economic crisis.
What Countries Are Repatriating Their Gold?
Some of the major countries that have initiated gold repatriation efforts in recent years include:
France 🇫🇷
The Banque de France carried out the largest and most recent operation, completing the withdrawal of its final 129 tonnes of gold held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in January 2026. In a highly sophisticated and discreet strategy, French authorities chose to sell their older bars on U.S. soil while simultaneously purchasing modern bars in the London market and transporting them directly to Paris. As a result, 100% of France’s national reserves are now held on sovereign territory.
India 🇮🇳
The Reserve Bank of India has implemented an aggressive physical gold relocation plan, moving more than 380 metric tonnes back to its domestic vaults from late 2022 through 2026. Although most of its overseas holdings had historically been concentrated at the Bank of England, the Indian government accelerated the process beginning in 2024, reducing the share of its gold stored abroad from 55% to less than 22%, prioritizing national security amid potential global liquidity crises.
Serbia 🇷🇸
Citing the need to mitigate geopolitical and economic volatility in Eastern Europe, Serbia completed the full repatriation of the gold it held abroad in 2025. The Serbian Central Bank transferred all of its bullion back to its vaults in Belgrade in a strategic move valued at approximately US$6 billion, aimed at shielding the country against any escalation of international sanctions in the region. With this move, Serbia became the first Eastern European country to withdraw all of its bullion from traditional financial centers.
Egypt 🇪🇬
Facing a severe foreign-exchange crisis and seeking to protect its economic sovereignty in a highly unstable Middle East, the Central Bank of Egypt increased and accelerated the transfer of its gold reserves to its new, highly secure vault in the New Administrative Capital beginning in 2022.
Egyptian authorities decided to centralize custody of the country’s precious metal on national territory to shield it from external political pressure and use it as secure financial collateral of last resort in the event of a liquidity emergency. As a result, Egypt’s gold reserves held within its borders increased by 71%—equivalent to 54 tonnes—between 2022 and early 2026.
Ghana 🇬🇭
Through its innovative institutional “Gold for Oil” program, launched in 2023, the Ghanaian government completely restructured the management of its sovereign reserves.
The central bank prioritized domestic storage of the metal and required local mining companies to sell a portion of their physical production to it. In this way, Ghana accumulated and retained gold within its own borders to pay directly for fuel imports, bypassing traditional Western financial channels controlled by the dollar. Ghana’s official gold reserves increased by 178%—equivalent to 15.6 tonnes—between May 2023 and June 2026.
The Lesson for Investors
These decisions reflect an undeniable reality: we live in a world marked by geopolitical conflicts, economic sanctions, trade tensions, and growing debates over de-dollarization.
Unlike reserves held in dollars, euros, or Treasury securities, gold remains one of the few financial assets whose value does not depend on a third party’s promise to pay. For this reason, keeping it on sovereign territory has become, for these nations, a matter of national security.
If central banks consider gold worthy of a strategic place within their reserves, it is also worth asking what role it should play in protecting family wealth.
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