...Argor-Heraeus fully acknowledges the serious human rights and environmental concerns associated with mining in Venezuela. Responsible sourcing is a core value of our company, and we share BHRC’s commitment to transparency and accountability in global supply chains.

It is precisely because of these concerns that we did not source mined gold from Venezuela and maintained a strict testing regime to ensure all material received was recycled scrap. Preliminary Remarks We would respectfully note that BHRC’s invitation characterizes the article as alleging that gold refined by Argor-Heraeus is “tainted by the most severe human rights abuses.” The article itself does not make this claim. The phrase cited by BHRC is drawn from a general comment by a third-party researcher regarding conditions in Venezuelan mining regions – it is not an allegation directed at Argor-Heraeus or the material we processed...

We would also note at the outset that OCCRP has issued a correction to the article (dated 10 March 2026; correction at end of article), amending factual inaccuracies relating to Argor-Heraeus’s forensic testing. We believe this underscores the broader concerns about the accuracy of the reporting that we set out below.

Our Position on the Allegations Argor-Heraeus categorically rejects the allegation that we processed mined gold from Venezuela between 2013 and 2019.

...[T]he published article contains material inaccuracies; a fact acknowledged by OCCRP’s own subsequent correction.

...We proactively designated Venezuela as a “no-go” country and ceased all sourcing from the region in 2017, well before international sanctions were imposed.

Upon learning of compliance concerns relating to the supplier in 2019, we immediately and indefinitely suspended the relationship, proactively filed a suspicious activity report with Swiss authorities, and fully cooperated with UK authorities’ investigation as witnesses. We are confident that the evidence fully supports our position and trust that BHRC will reflect this evidence in any publication...