Thursday, October 3, 2019

A Gold Story

Over the past decade in Germany....interest has been building to own gold.  Gold coins, gold bars, gold 'whatever'. 

Around eight years ago, I worked with an American guy who plowed around $10k a year into gold, and would get all worked-up when the question was asked.  He was this believer in a massive collapse coming sooner or later.  I respected the guy, but I just didn't buy into the gold theme. 

I can understand the attraction and belief of value.  But gold has that trend....it goes up....hits a ceiling, and then drops anywhere from 10-percent to 25-percent.  Maybe a year or two will pass, then the trend starts upward again. 

This week....we had this news piece that popped up....Pimm Gold.  It's a company here in the Hessen region, in Heusenstamm (in the southern shadow of Frankfurt).  Pimm had advertisements which I'd see in financial magazines or among on-line articles.  They aggressively went at Germans who felt unsure about the future or stability. 

Well....Pimm apparently had finance issues, and the cops got involved because fraud problems.

Number of customers affected?  More than 10,000 Germans.

A bankruptcy trustee appointed by the court?  The judge dictated that.  It's a common practice within German failed companies. 

The chief for the court and customers?  Out of this vault that existed.....there's two tons of gold which cannot be accounted for.  Value?  Around 80-million Euro. 

The way that the company was structured?  Well, that topic brings up money-laundering and the suggestion of a pyramid-scheme construction. 

The odds that it might be employees in the middle and not the top level of the company?  That might be possible. 

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