Expert issues financial warning under Trump as Netherlands moves 86 tonnes of gold out of US

The Netherlands has quietly pulled 86 tonnes of its sovereign gold reserves out of North America, prompting financial experts to warn that European assets are "no longer safe" stored on American soil under Donald Trump's presidency.

Between March and August, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) executed a sweeping transatlantic relocation, shifting billions of dollars worth of gold bullion out of vaults in New York and Ottawa directly into underground facilities in London.

The discreet operation dramatically slashed the Dutch gold held under the custody of the US Federal Reserve in New York, plummeting from 31.3 percent of the nation's total reserves down to just 18.5 percent.

By contrast, London’s Bank of England vaults now safeguard 32.1 percent of the country’s stockpile—making the UK capital the single largest overseas home for Dutch gold.

While the central bank officially framed the maneuver as a practical liquidity decision—stating that gold stored in London can be traded far quicker in the event of an economic catastrophe—the underlying motives have sparked intense speculation.

In an official release, the DNB stated the relocation was necessary to 'better prepare for serious crises' against the backdrop of 'increasing geopolitical unrest', reports the Daily Mail.

However, financial observers have offered a far more blunt assessment of the shift.

Speaking to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, financial expert Johan de Ruiter warned that keeping national wealth inside US borders has become an unacceptable liability under Trump’s unpredictable economic and foreign policy agenda.

Trump''s policy decisions have caused increasing alarm across the globe (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"We must remove our gold from the US as soon as possible," de Ruiter warned. "It is simply no longer safe there."

The dramatic move comes amid deepening European unease over American trade isolationism, retaliatory tariff threats, and the potential weaponization of the US banking system against historical allies, as has been seen with recent tensions igniting between the US and neighbours Canada.

European central bankers have privately raised concerns that worsening diplomatic fractures could theoretically see foreign reserves entangled in legal freezes or severe capital restrictions if relations deteriorate.

Logistically, pulling off the multi-billion-dollar shift was a complex operation.

Rather than risking the immense cost and insurance exposure of flying entire plane-loads of physical bullion across the ocean at once, the Dutch bank employed a hybrid strategy.

It sold roughly 59 tonnes of gold held in New York and repurchased standard bullion in London, while physically shipping over 27 tonnes through high-security transport via its domestic vault facility in Zeist.

With total Dutch gold holdings valued at over €72 billion ($83 billion), the aggressive drawdown of US-stored reserves marks one of the clearest signs yet that Europe’s top financial institutions are proactively hedging against American instability.