Mr. Ron Brownasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current value of the Albanian gold held by the Bank of England; and whether any steps have been taken to return this to the Government of Albania.
§ Mr. Moore[pursuant to his reply, 21 July 1983, c. 179]: The Bank of England holds no gold directly on behalf of the Government of Albania, but does hold a certain amount of gold which is the responsibility of the 264W Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold, on which the Albanian Government have made a claim. The question of the disposal of the gold is discussed by members of the commission from time to time, but, because of several outstanding claims against Albania or on the gold itself, no satisfactory basis has yet been established for making a delivery.