香港金匠今年被騙售了數(shù)百盎司的假黃金。這一事件堪稱中國黃金市場數(shù)十年來遭遇的最復(fù)雜的一場騙局。
業(yè)內(nèi)高管表示，這一騙局盡管涉及金額不大，也只是影響到了零售業(yè)，但它暴露出，隨著金價飆升至每盎司1400美元的創(chuàng)紀錄高點，亞洲黃金騙子們的欺詐手段也在日漸高超。
這起假黃金案震驚了整個香港的黃金市場，不僅因為其數(shù)量，還因為其技藝的復(fù)雜程度。
“仿造質(zhì)量非常高，”香港具有百年歷史的黃金交易所——金銀業(yè)貿(mào)易場(Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society)理事長張德熙(Haywood Cheung)說。他表示，犯罪販子正在用新技術(shù)，來從事黃金欺詐這個古老的行當(dāng)。
張德熙說，據(jù)他了解，一些珠寶店和典當(dāng)行已發(fā)現(xiàn)了至少200盎司的假黃金，價值28萬美元。但他估計，整個零售市場上散布的假黃金總量可能是這個數(shù)字的10倍。作為比較，各國央行持有的金磚一般每塊重達400盎司，價值近56萬美元。
在一個店鋪中，管理者發(fā)現(xiàn)，犯罪分子在與黃金屬性相似的合金外面包裹了一層純金。合金中含有相當(dāng)比重的黃金，約占總重的51%，另外摻有七種其它金屬：鋨、銥、釕、銅、鎳、鐵和銠。
工藝的復(fù)雜性表明，只有那些擁有先進設(shè)備和高超冶金工程知識的金工技師才能制造出這樣的假黃金。
甚至連香港最大的珠寶商之一——六福珠寶(Luk Fook Group)也在今年夏季被騙購了價值1.15萬美元的假黃金。之后該公司提醒各門店保持警惕。公司常務(wù)董事羅添福說：“這是迄今以來我們受到的最為嚴重的一次沖擊。”
過去，香港以及亞洲其它各地的假黃金要么質(zhì)地粗糙，甚至肉眼都能識別，要么添加了鍍金鎢——鎢的密度與黃金類似，但交易員和珠寶商可以輕易識別出來。
最新一批假黃金的復(fù)雜性很可能降低了這一騙局的盈利能力，因為它使用了大量黃金，而銥和鋨的價格也都很高。
僅憑看和摸，很難識別這些假黃金。它們大都通過了基本檢測，只是后來經(jīng)過高溫和化學(xué)制劑等更為復(fù)雜的檢測時，才被識破。
行業(yè)高管強調(diào)，這一騙局針對的主要是銷售給珠寶店鋪的碎金。張德熙表示，假黃金尚未進入更大的、受到更嚴格保護的金條市場。
( 英國《金融時報》 羅伯特-庫克森 香港報道 譯者/何黎 )
原文：
Hong Kong goldsmiths have been sold hundreds of ounces of fake gold this year in one of the most sophisticated scams to hit the Chinese territory’s gold market in decades.
Industry executives say the scam – while not massive and hitting only the retail sector – uncloaks the increasingly elaborate gold swindles perpetrated by criminals in Asia as bullion prices soar to record highs of $1,400 a troy ounce.
The counterfeits have shocked Hong Kong’s gold community not because of the amount involved, but because of their sophistication.
“It’s a very good fake,” said Haywood Cheung, president of the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society, Hong Kong’s century-old gold exchange, highlighting how criminals are developing new techniques to commit an age-old fraud.
Mr Cheung said he was aware of at least 200 ounces – worth $280,000 – of the fake gold that had been discovered by jewellers and pawn shops. But he estimated that ten times that amount might have infiltrated the retail market. In comparison, the large gold bars held by central banks weigh 400 ounces and are worth nearly $560,000 each.
In one case, executives discovered a pure gold coating that masked a complex alloy with similar properties to gold. The fake gold included a significant amount of bullion – about 51 per cent of the total – alloyed with seven other metals: osmium, iridium, ruthenium, copper, nickel, iron, and rhodium.
The complex nature of the fakes suggest they were produced by a metalsmith with sophisticated equipment and extensive knowledge of metallurgical engineering.
Even Luk Fook Group, one of Hong Kong’s biggest jewellers, was tricked into buying $11,500 worth of fake gold this summer before putting its stores on alert. “This was the biggest hit ever,” said Paul Law, executive director of the firm.
In the past, counterfeit gold in Hong Kong and the rest of Asia was either rough and easy to detect, even to the naked eye, or involved gold-plated tungsten, a metal with a similar density to gold, but which traders and jewellers can easily identify.
The complexity of the latest batch of fake gold would have reduced the profitability of the scam, since it used a significant amount of bullion, and because iridium and osmium are expensive.
The fakes are extremely hard to detect by sight and touch alone. In most cases, they passed basic scrutiny, only to be revealed later by more sophisticated tests involving high temperatures and chemicals.
Industry executives stressed that the scam targeted the street-level sale of scrap gold to jewellers. Mr Cheung said none of the fake gold had infiltrated the much more bigger market for gold bars, which as is protected by more rigorous controls.
