Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk

Economic conditions, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to government intervention (including intervention by the government of an investor’s country of residence with respect to other governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as the freezing or seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include assets related thereto. Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the good delivery standards of bullion such as gold. For instance, in 2022, and in response to sanctions imposed on Russia by the United Kingdom, United States and European Union as a result of the Russia/Ukraine conflict, the LBMA suspended six Russian refiners from the Good Delivery List. While it is difficult to predict how such sanctions and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will affect the prices of gold and hence the value of a Gold Token, there may be increased volatility and unpredictability of gold or sanctions may impact retrievability.