The Dutch central bank has moved 200 tonnes of gold bars and coins, with a total value of €10.4 billion, from Haarlem to a new high-security centre in Zeist over the past four weeks. 

The bank’s strategic supply of bank notes, with a value of €4.5 billion, has also been moved to the ministry of defence location of Camp New Amsterdam, the bank said on Monday.

The 14,166 gold bars and 1,006 boxes of coins were moved from the bank’s headquarters in Amsterdam in October 2020 ahead of the start of renovation work. 

The gold now stored in the DNB’s ‘cashcentrum’ accounts for 31% of the bank’s total cash reserves. A further 31% is stored by the Federal Reserve Bank in New York and the remaining 38% is held in London and Ottowa. 

Cash stored at the new centre is used to supply money transporters and taken to banks, cash dispensers and shops all over the country. It also has an analysis department to keep a check on forgeries. 

The bank decided to move the permanent storage to Zeist to reduce the need for such high security in Amsterdam, so the renovated building can be open to the public. The work is scheduled for completion by the end of 2024.