gold bars found on a Swiss train 4 years ago, given to the Red Cross because they had no owner found

Four years ago, a stewardess on a Swiss train heading from St. Gallen to Lucerne found 120 gold bars on board the train, without the authorities being able to determine their owner or who placed them on the train.

Ultimately, the Swiss authorities decided to hand over the bullion to the Red Cross, as the Public Prosecution Office in the Lucerne region announced on Friday, August 25.

The bullion, which was found in October 2019, was placed in a package bearing a sticker stating “valuable possessions of the International Committee of the Red Cross,” which is headquartered in the Swiss city of Geneva.

The Public Prosecution’s statement explained that “the package contained 120 gold bars... with a logo and serial numbers,” adding that the total weight of the bars amounted to 3.7 kilograms.

The statement did not mention the value of the pieces, but 24-carat gold bullion is currently sold for about $60,000 per kilo.

The statement said, “Despite extensive investigations, the owner of the gold bullion has not been identified,” and therefore “there is no connection (to these bullion) to a possible property crime,” according to the Lucerne Public Prosecution Office, which closed investigations into the case.

The statement added, "Since the gold was in a package addressed to the International Committee of the Red Cross, it can be assumed that the unknown owner wanted to hand over the gold to this organization. Therefore, the discovered quantities were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross."

“A generous contribution will allow our humanitarian work to continue.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross indicated that it has not yet received the gold, but it intends to sell the bullion to help finance its operations around the world in places affected by violence and conflict.

Source: Monte Carlo International