Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Bolivia faces growing debate over the management of its gold reserves after the Central Bank authorized advance sales of the metal to obtain U.S. dollars amid legal and transparency concerns.
The country officially holds about 24.1 tons of gold, but only 9% -- just over 2 tons -- is stored in Bolivia. The rest is kept in foreign banks.
By law, the Central Bank must maintain a minimum of 22 tons, although recent transactions have raised doubts whether that requirement is being met.
Rodrigo Rosa Laserna, a Bolivian systems engineer, told UPI that the country's measures reflect the government's urgency to secure liquidity.
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