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2024-11-19 | RESOLUCIÓN DE DIRECTORIO N° 158/2024

Added 2026-07-27 · Updated 2026-08-13

Board Resolution No. 158/2024

The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Bolivia approves the export of 223 gold bars, weighing approximately 1.97 tons (estimated 1.82 tons of fine gold), acquired in the domestic market to Turkey for external refining. This authorization enables the Bank to refine the gold into London Good Delivery bars and conduct international investment operations, such as investing, depositing, or converting the reserves into foreign currency, in accordance with the regulations for the administration of international reserves. The International Operations Department is tasked with obtaining the necessary ministerial resolution from the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance to authorize the exit of the gold from the national customs territory.

Bolivia

Banco Central de Bolivia

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOARD RESOLUTION NO. 158/2024

SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT – APPROVE THE EXIT OF GOLD ACQUIRED IN THE DOMESTIC MARKET FROM THE NATIONAL CUSTOMS TERRITORY.

VIEWING:

The Political Constitution of the State, of February 7, 2009 (CPE).
Law No. 1670, of October 31, 1995, of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) and its modifications.
Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023, on the Purchase of Gold Intended to Strengthen International Reserves.
Supreme Decree No. 25870 of August 11, 2000, of the Regulation to the General Customs Law and its modifications.
The Statute of the BCB approved by Board Resolution No. 095/2022 of October 6, 2022.
The Regulation of the International Reserves Committee approved by Board Resolution No. 017/2023 of January 25, 2023.
The Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves approved by Board Resolution No. 071/2023 of May 9, 2023 and its modifications.
The Regulation for the Purchase of Gold in the Domestic Market Intended to Strengthen International Reserves, within the framework of Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023, approved by Board Resolution No. 066/2024 of May 28, 2024 and its modifications.
The technical report BCB-GOI-SRES-DNI-INF-2024-79 of November 15, 2024, issued by the International Operations Department (GOI).

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The legal report BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2024-479 of November 18, 2024, issued by the Legal Affairs Department (GAL).

CONSIDERING:

That Articles 327 and 328 of the CPE determine that the BCB is a public law institution, with legal personality and its own assets, which, within the framework of the State's economic policy, has the function of maintaining the stability of the internal purchasing power of the currency, to contribute to economic and social development, being its attribution, in coordination with the Economic Policy determined by the Executive Branch, to administer International Reserves.
That Article 1 of Law No. 1670, modified by Article 64, section A3, numeral 1) of Law No. 1864 of June 15, 1998 on Popular Property and Credit, establishes that the BCB is a State institution, of public law, of an autarkic nature, of indefinite duration, with legal personality and its own assets and with legal domicile in the city of La Paz. It is the sole monetary and exchange authority of the country, with administrative, technical and financial competence and specialized normative faculties of general application.
That Article 14 of Law No. 1670 establishes that the BCB will ensure the strengthening of International Reserves so that they allow the normal functioning of Bolivia's international payments.
That Article 15 of Law No. 1670 provides that the BCB's International Reserves are constituted, among others, by physical Gold.
That Article 44 of Law No. 1670 establishes that the highest authority of the BCB is its Board of Directors, which is responsible for defining its policies, specialized norms of general application and internal rules; as well as establishing administrative, operational and financial strategies of the BCB, approving their respective short and medium-term programs. For the monitoring and oversight of their execution, it will have access to information, independent analysis and audit services.
That subsections a) and c) of Article 54 of Law No. 1670, indicate as attributions of the

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Board of Directors the following: Issue the norms and adopt the general decisions that are necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies and faculties assigned to it by Law; Monitor the execution of monetary, exchange, credit, financial intermediation, administration of International Reserves and other policies and regulations corresponding to the BCB in accordance with Law No. 1670.

That Article 1 of Law No. 1503 has as its object to authorize the BCB to purchase Gold from the domestic market to strengthen International Reserves and to carry out financial operations with International Reserves in gold in international markets.
That Article 7 of Law No. 1503, provides that once the gold purchase process is concluded and the total settlement has been made in the domestic market, the BCB may refine the gold abroad to obtain the quality of Good Delivery bars and, in accordance with regulations, regulate the exit from the national customs territory.
Article 9 of Law No. 1503 establishes that the BCB will carry out operations in international markets with gold reserves, being able to buy, invest, deposit in custody, use in hedging instruments, transform and convert them into foreign currency, in order to optimize the liquidity and/or yield of International Reserves.
That Article 185 of Supreme Decree No. 25870 of August 11, 2000, of the Regulation to the General Customs Law and its modifications establishes that the exit from the national customs territory of International Reserves, composed of convertible currencies and gold, by virtue of operations carried out by the BCB with international financial organizations and other institutions abroad, derived from its central banking functions or that are carried out to facilitate payment and credit operations, must be carried out in accordance with applicable legal provisions and prior presentation of the Resolution of the Ministry currently Ministry of Economy and Public Finance that authorizes such operation.
That subsections 1) and 3) of Article 5 of the Statute of the BCB provide that its Board of Directors has normative competence to issue specialized norms in the fields assigned by Law and technical competence for the formulation of policies and the application of

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instruments that allow it to fulfill its object.

That subsections 1) and 6) of Article 10 of the Statute of the BCB, provide that the Board of Directors has the attributions to approve general decisions and issue the norms that are necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies and faculties assigned to it by Law, approve the policy and norms for the administration of International Reserves, as well as monitor their execution.
That paragraph I of Article 24 of said norm, provides that the Resolutions and decisions of the Board of Directors are adopted by a simple majority of votes of its members present in a meeting, except in cases where Law No. 1670 or the Statute of the BCB require qualified majorities.
That Article 26 of the Statute of the BCB, stipulate that the Board of Directors pronounces itself on matters within its competence through Resolutions. It may also do so through decisions that will be expressly recorded in the Minutes. Likewise, every draft Board Resolution must be motivated and justified by a technical report from the Department or Departments to which the subject matter of the Resolution corresponds and by a report from the Legal Affairs Department. These reports must be sent to the Board of Directors by the General Management with its recommendation.
Subsection 5) of Article 6 of the Regulation of the International Reserves Committee establishes among others as a Function of the Committee to propose the treatment that will be applied to International Reserve investments in case of immediate liquidity requirement, to recommend to the BCB.
That Paragraph VI of Article 11 of the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves establishes that the exit from the national customs territory of gold purchased locally to carry out investment operations will be approved by Board Resolution.
That paragraph II of Article 18 of the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves establishes among the operations authorized for the purchase of gold.

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That Article 25 of the Regulation for the Purchase of Gold in the Domestic Market Intended to Strengthen International Reserves, within the framework of Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023, provides that the exit of gold from the national customs territory for the purpose of refining abroad will be approved by Board Resolution.
That report BCB-GOI-SRES-DNI-INF-2024-79, concludes that with the objective of optimizing the composition of Gold Reserves, it corresponds to refine the bars described in the report to obtain London Good Delivery Bars, which will be deposited in the BCB's gold accounts in London. With the London Good Delivery Bars, the GOI can improve the yields of International Reserves through international financial operations with gold reserves, being able, among other things, to invest, deposit and convert the gold into foreign currency. The GOI plans to refine the gold acquired in the domestic market with IGR, a company that will deposit the produced London Good Delivery Bars in the BCB's gold accounts in London. For the foregoing, the GOI recommends to the Board of Directors of the BCB to approve the exit from the national customs territory of 223 gold bars acquired in the domestic market with an approximate weight of 1.97 tons, of which an estimated 1.82 tons of fine gold is expected, destined for Turkey for the purpose of refining abroad.
That report BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2024-479, concludes that the approval of the exit from the national customs territory of the gold acquired in the domestic market for its refining and the carrying out of investment operations does not violate current regulations and is consistent with Law No. 1503 on the Purchase of Gold Intended to Strengthen International Reserves, the Regulation for the Purchase of Gold in the Domestic Market Intended to Strengthen International Reserves, within the framework of Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023 and the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves is legally procedent, recommending to the Board of Directors of the BCB its approval.

THEREFORE,

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF BOLIVIA

RESOLVES:

Article 1.- Approve the exit from the national customs territory of 223 gold bars acquired in the domestic market with an approximate weight of 1.97 tons, of which an estimated 1.82 tons of fine gold is expected, destined for Turkey for the purpose of

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refining abroad.

Article 2.- Authorize the investment operations of the gold resulting from the refining indicated in the preceding Article, in accordance with what is established in the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves.

Article 3.- In accordance with Article 26 of the Regulation for the Purchase of Gold in the Domestic Market Intended to Strengthen International Reserves, within the framework of Law No. 1503 of May 5, 2023, the International Operations Department will process the Ministerial Resolution that authorizes the exit of the gold from the national customs territory before the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance.

Article 4.- The Presidency and the General Management are charged with the compliance of this Resolution.

La Paz, November 20, 2024

SIGNED. ROGER EDWIN ROJAS ULO, Gumercindo Héctor Pino Guzmán, Diego Alejandro Pérez Cueto Eulert, Miguel Angel Marañon Urquidi, Victor Gonzalo Calisaya Gomez.