# Finance minister has little oversight of the Dutch gold reserve

> The national audit office (Algemene Rekenkamer) says the finance minister, sole shareholder of the central bank DNB, hardly asks for information about the more than 600 tonnes of gold it holds, worth over €72bn.

Economy · published 2026-11-11 10:45 · https://nlnow.nl/a/finance-minister-has-little-oversight-of-the-dutch-gold-reserve/

The finance minister may request information about the Dutch gold reserve but hardly does so, the Algemene Rekenkamer says in a report published today. The central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), manages more than 600 tonnes of gold worth more than €72bn. The minister is the state's sole shareholder in DNB.

The Rekenkamer says the minister reads DNB's independence so strictly that he asks almost nothing about how the gold is managed. He also does not know how the checks by DNB and by the external accountant work. The accountant, appointed by the minister to audit DNB's annual accounts, does not join the physical checks in foreign vaults. It relies on confirmation from the foreign central banks that the gold is there.

The gold is stored in New York, Ottawa, London and Zeist. In summer 2026 a large amount was moved from New York and Ottawa to London. DNB informed Finance Minister Eelco Heinen shortly beforehand. In 2014 DNB secretly prepared and carried out a move of part of the gold from New York to the Netherlands; the Rekenkamer says it is not certain the minister was told in advance.

DNB and the minister have also made no agreements or scenarios on how the gold could be used in a crisis. DNB says the gold is and remains DNB's, even in a financial crisis or war.

Rekenkamer board member Barbara Joziasse says DNB's independence does not stop the minister asking questions. "At the same time, the question is whether the minister wouldn't want to know, in broad terms, how DNB manages the gold," she said.

Heinen responded that DNB's management of the gold contributes to the resilience of the Dutch economy. He said "in normal times there is little reason" for more information exchange. Agreements on crisis use, he said, would limit DNB's independence. The report concerns the minister's role in general, not Heinen personally.

## Background

- **DNB (De Nederlandsche Bank)**: The Dutch central bank. It is part of the European system of central banks and supervises banks, insurers and pension funds.
- **Algemene Rekenkamer**: The Netherlands Court of Audit is the Dutch national audit office. It examines whether central government spending and policy are lawful, efficient and effective, and it publishes its findings in reports. Those reports go to parliament, and the office operates independently of the government.

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