And at least one congressman is demanding answers from the Federal Reserve as to how much foreign gold has actually been removed from U.S. shores so far.

According to a 2023 Invesco survey, a "substantial percentage" of central banks expressed concern about how the U.S. and its allies froze nearly half of Russia's $650 billion gold and forex reserves. One anonymous central banker told Invesco that his country quietly repatriated its gold from London, and some 68% of the banks surveyed said they are keeping their gold reserve within their country's borders—up from 50% in 2020.

The apparent desire of foreign countries to bring their gold home would accelerate a trend that began when the U.S. decoupled the dollar from gold in 1971. Since then, the Federal Reserve's custodial services have dwindled from some 13,000 tons of gold to just a little more than 6,000 tons.

But amidst the geopolitical angst, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is refusing to divulge information about the U.S. central bank's gold holdings. Insiders say such information could be highly damning.

Fed Chairman Powell's Obfuscations

In December, Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., asked Powell a series of simple and direct questions, including whether the Federal Reserve has recently repatriated gold to foreign nations, how much gold the central bank is holding now, and how much it held in 2022.