Others’ words (March 16, 1992)

“During the Iraq invasion of Kuwait, gold dealers expected a surge from Kuwaitis exchanging worthless dinars for physical gold, but the orders never materialized. It turned out that the Kuwaitis were being robbed as they tried to cross the border and word of the thefts had spread back to the general population. The solution proved simple. Kuwaitis went into American Express offices and bought U.S. traveller’s cheques. When they left the office they immediately destroyed the cheques and smuggled the small receipts across the border. At their destination they went back to American Express and reported the cheques lost. They were soon repaid for the missing’ traveller’s cheques in U.S. dollars. As you can see, the traditional role of gold was altered as Kuwaitis shifted to a more modern method of protecting their wealth.”

— From a speech by CIBC/Wood Gundy Vice-President David Dunn to the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum.