HL Deb 29 October 1981 vol 424 c1185WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What amounts of gold bullion originally belonging to Albania are still held by Her Majesty's Government; what claims are outstanding in respect of this gold, and what legal right the United Kingdom has to remain in possession of it.

Lord Carrington

The gold originally allocated to Albania by the Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold (on which the British, French and American Governments are equally represented) is held to the Commission's account by the Bank of England. Her Majesty's Government do not hold any gold bullion which originally belonged to Albania. The United Kingdom has a claim against Albania for the damages awarded by the International Court of Justice in the Corfu Channel Case. I understand that there are certain American claims against Albania for property nationalised in the late 1940s. Italy has asserted a claim to the gold.