On 10th September 2015, the Berne Declaration (BD) published a report titled “A Golden Racket – The True Source of Switzerland’s “Togolese” Gold”, implicating the Swiss refinery, Valcambi. Valcambi reacted two days later with an unsigned press release. Valcambi denies buying gold originating from “any of the 5 mines mentioned” in the BD’s report and provides a long explanation of its due diligence and compliance procedures. The refinery also rejects allegations that it would have “infringed both international standards as well as its own supply chain policies,” describing them as “unsubstantiated and false.” The Berne Declaration’sresponse:  Valcambi provides no evidence to support its denial of the Berne Declaration’s findings, which are the result of a rigorous research process undertaken over the course of 9 months. The BD’s report underwent a thorough fact-checking and external peer review process before publication.  Valcambi states that through its due diligence procedures, it knows the source of “every single lot of precious metals bearing material”. Yet, this is somewhat paradoxical given it had to “thoroughly” audit its records before making this claim. Valcambi’s denial is based on the existence of mining and export licenses. The BD wishes to reiterate that it has never stated that the mines themselves are illegal nor has it claimed that the Burkinabé traders in question do not hold export licenses. Rather, the BD focusses on evidence that Burkinabé traders illegally smuggle a substantial portion of their production to Togo, where the gold is exported to Switzerland. Valcambi has failed to comment on this in its press release.