What's new

The CIA and three tons of missing Palladium

Crow

Silver Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2005
Messages
4,766
Reaction score
13,610
Golden Thread
0
Location
In a tax haven some where
Detector(s) used
ONES THAT GO BEEP! :-)
Primary Interest:
Other
Greetings all

Grab a seat around the campfire of treasure yarns and grab your favorite brew.

Comfortable. The following story I am not sure of truth behind it? I am leaning towards it be a fake story. However I understand some times things get swept under the rug so Speak specifically when members of the CIA is alleged to be partly or indirectly involved. I know very the machinations behind smoke and mirrors and subterfuge

So sit back and enjoy the yarn.


Crow
 
Last edited:
Old Crow is pesky old bird and he cannot keep his old beak out of potential treasure stories. The following story dates back to 1982.

I had been recently trawling through CIA files for interesting missing treasure tidbits when i cam across the following. You can see below. About 4 CIA retires profiting from a spike in Palladium prices in 1984. It appears the CIA denied their existence with the CIA and even sanitized their names from the four allegedly involved?

Screenshot 2025-09-06 211926.webp


Curious Don't you think?


Crow
 
Last edited:
The story goes as follows. There is record in the CIA files

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/23: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100260001-1 Central intelligence Agency Washington, D.C. (703) 351-7676 George V. Lauder Director, Public Affairs 1 March 1984 FYI e -explanatory follow-up note fro on alleged involvement of retirees on the board of the so-called "Center for Strategic Investing." The retirees aren't ours. Over to Justice. George V. Lau er Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/23: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100260001-1 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/23: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100260001-1 2 2 FEB 1984 MEMORANDUM FOR: Public Affairs Office ATTENTION: FROM: Deputy Director of Security Personnel Security & Investigations SUBJECT: Center for Strategic Investing REFERENCE: Verbal request from the Public Affairs Office for information on Center for Strategic Investing dated.-7 February 1984 1. In early December an Agency employee forwarded to the Office of Security an unsolicited letter he had received from an organization entitled Center for Strategic Investing (copy attached). On the letterhead, four individuals listed as being members of the "Intelligence Board of Advisors" are identified as being retired employees of the Central Intelligence Agency. A review of the Agency's Personnel and Office of Security records indicated no record that the four individuals have ever been employed by this Agency.

A review of the information contained in the letter was also made and it was felt that it was not classified but appeared to be information gleaned from the open media with the addition of hindsight and "active thinking." 3. The above information was forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on 8 December 1983 as a possible impersonation. 4. Please refer any q green line extension questions on. this matter .

OS 4 0391 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/23: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100260001-1 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/23: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100260001-1 CENTER FOR STRATEGIC INVESTING Post Office Box 1440, 1exandria, Va. 22313


Dear Reader of this Letter: Let me tell you an unusual story -- that, until now, has never. been reported in the public media. . It concerns an event that took place a year. ago, in Africa. And it's like something out of a James Bond thriller. Like any good spy story, it has everything: Action (savage killings, and a hijacking) ... colorful cast of characters (including Yuri Andropov, and an East German super spy)..-political implications (a threat to our national security)... and, naturally, mom, This story, however, is not an entertainment. (Though it greatly fascinated the intelligence community.) Rather, it is being told here, for the first time, to illustrate some. important points... That investment trends and opportunities in the United States are usually triggered by geopolitical events abroad. . .that governments, banks and .other large financial groups exploit these geopolitical occurrences by manipulating the markets for precious metals and other 'hard monies'...but that private investors can often anticipate these manipulations, and thereby profit from this artificial rising and falling of prices. Understand how the 'game' is played, then, and you'll make a great deal of money. Forget those realities -- and you'll lose your shirt.



THE GREAT PALLADIUM GRAB The star of this story is not a man -- but a silvery-white metal. Palladium (produced with platinum) is one of those exotic metals upon which our high-tech society depends -- in.communications ...phar- maceuticals...pollution controls ... and defense' production. There's no substitute. It's essential. But did you know that 70% of palladium production comes from the Soviet Union? That the rest comes from South Africa? That total production from both countries is only about 100 tons a year? Now imagine this: Suppose all South African production was wiped.

Screenshot 2025-09-06 212021.webp


Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/23: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100260001-1 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/23: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100260001-1 out.

Screenshot 2025-09-06 212102.webp


Suppose the West was now dependent on Russia -- which could raise the price ten-fold.. .twenty-fold. . .or more. Or: Refuse to sell us a single ounce. The ultimate diplomatic blackmail. And, suddenly, the. Soviet Union would have a new strategic weapon. Evidently, this thought also occurred to KGB Chief Yuri Andropov back in 1978 (according to a recent defector) -- and operational planning was ordered. Within a year, several ambitious proposals were submitted to the KGB Central Planning Committee, but all were eventually rejected. (Too' risky, at least for now, since Russia and South Africa have an unofficial marketing 'understanding.') But two years later, as Andropov was preparing to leave the KGB, and with Russia increasingly cash-starved, a modified operation was approved.,to?drastically increase the world price of palladium. And here is what happened (according to the KGB defector)... Running the operation under East German auspices, a team of three top agents were infiltrated into South Africa in September '82 -- led by the legendary Horst Kyritz. (An assassin well known to the CIA.) The 'mission: To hijack a shipment of palladium, and lose it. Anywhere...it didn't matter-just so long as it wouldn't be traded on the open market. And this was accomplished, with-the help of South African accomplices. A train, carrying a large shipment of palladium, was derailed on the way to Johannesburg. The armored *rail car containing the metal was blown open...four guards were , killed... and more than three tons of palladium 'disappeared.' The next day, it was announced that government security forces were searching for terrorists who had attacked a train north of Johannesburg. No mention was made of the palladium -- valued at $4 million. ? For various reasons, the South African Government and the mining company preferred to keep the matter a secret. .And it would have remained a secret.

KGB Chief Yuri Andropov below.

Screenshot 2025-09-06 210733.webp


Screenshot 2025-09-06 205238.webp


had it not been for a retired CIA agent working in South Africa as a security consultant Russian involvement.-..recognized the investment implications...and did two things: He contacted us, for the finder's fee. And he called his brother-in-law, a dentist, in Chicago. In.our case, we immediately passed on the news to our clients. While in Chicago, the dentist told some close friends. And suddenly, as you might imagine, there was action. Around the country, people were starting to buy long palladium contracts - often on margin, like the Chicago group. They were also picking up palladium/platinum mining stock and, we are told, a great deal of the actual metal. And it was. a bonanza!

Screenshot 2025-09-06 212158.webp


Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/23: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100260001-1 % . Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/23: CIA-RDP90-00806R000100260001-1


Screenshot 2025-09-06 212245.webp



When the market learned that South African sales were being curtailed...and rumors began circulating (via the KGB) that Russia was going to hold back on her .sales...the price of palladium went berserk. In the three month period from October 4, 1982 to January 8, 1983, the price soared from $SS/oz to $137/oz. Nearly 150% profit in three months. Or, if you were buying on margin, a net profit of up to 800%. And that, we are told, is the real story of why palladium was the only strategic metal to show substantial price rise over the past two years -- and why it outperformed other precious metals by a margin of nearly four-to-one. Finally, we're happy to say that millions of.dollars were made by U.S. investors. The Chicago group, alone, netted over $1 million. And the ex-CIA agent? He did just fine clearing nearly $70,000. (So we were told )

Was this real event? I could find no records of train attack in south Africa in 1982 where for railways guards died. I could find no mention of this alleged Well Known alleged East German Assassin Horst Kyritz? Why did the CIA suppress the names of those alleged ex CIA operatives that made money on rising Palladium prices? If there was a real hijacking of 3 tons of Palladium? Where is it today?

Today's value at current prices 3 tons is worth around 97 million dollars


Crow
 
Last edited:
Around page 17 and on are accounts of sabotages.

Perhaps in the conflict there just wasn't a focus on all rail disruptions as they could easily be assigned to the MNR? Which would simply be a diversion for others to take advantage of.

Multiple people from multiple nations in the country at the time.
From British to Russian to Portuguese to natives and more.
Accounts elsewhere in another language might mention a particular wreck?

file:///C:/Users/deanb/Downloads/fls16.pdf
 
Crow,
Great post; reminds me of this:
Before the U-boats were driven out of the Caribbean and Mexican Gulf, they had sunk 319 ships for over 1.5 million tons and damaged 46 more. (This came at the cost of 12 lost U-boats.) Several of these sunk vessels were transporting 'strategic materials' (like palladium, platinum and copper ingots) from Africa to our Gulf ports.
One vessel, The City of Bath, was sunk off the coast of British Guinea and carried 2000 tons of copper ingots; valued today at $18M. Is that rich enough for salvors to make it a project? Of course, depth of the wreck, government approval and a host of other challenges awaits the risk taker.

Closer to home (in the southern Caribbean) are WWII wrecks from South Africa to the States that were carrying palladium and platinum. Research might determine the financial feasibility of a salvage effort--for someone half my age.
Don.....
 
Last edited:
The “CIA letter” sounds like those investment pitches you see on pop-up ads or in the back pages of men’s magazines).. they tell an exciting story of past exploits that resulted in amazing profits to get you to invest in their firm with your own expectations of future riches.
 
Last edited:
The “CIA letter” sounds like those investment pitches you see on pop-up ads or in the back pages of men’s magazines).. they tell an exciting story of past exploits that resulted in amazing profits to get you to invest in their firm with your own expectations of future riches.
Hello Ryano I am too learning on side BS promotion of this alleged investment company. that could of been scam. Yet what intrigues me is why CIA removed the alleged fake names of EX CIA operatives? If these alleged retired ex CIA operative did not exist then why censor the names?

some claim Center for Strategic Investing" is most likely referring to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a non-profit think tank in Washington, D.C., that focuses on political, economic, and security issues, including global finance and trade. However, there is also a declassified CIA document from 1982 titled "Center for Strategic Investing" that discusses market speculation in the palladium metal industry. The report details how rumors of curtailed sales of palladium by South Africa and Russia led to a dramatic increase in its price and significant profits for investors in late 1982 and early 1983. Center for Strategic Investing does not exist.

George V. Lauder is mentioned on the first document. A thirty-six year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, he best known (publicly) as their Director of Public Affairs in the 1980s as the CIA began to recraft their public image after finding it difficult to shed the reputation it gained in the mid-1970's as a rogue agency accused of shocking abuses of power. In 1981, there was a significant expansion of the CIA. Overseas operations had expanded, including covert actions intended to influence events in other countries, and President Reagan had given the agency authority to conduct operations within the United States. He died in 2012. he refereed the document to the FBI. But I have not found any record of any FBI investigation.

Screenshot 2025-09-07 124422.webp


I did find Kyritz Horst above an alleged engineer and inventor of coupling in west Germany. He had world wide patient for coupling using in mining industry. Here the the thing no birth or death records of him. He is like a ghost. The Name could be a front for real identity of KGB Assassin.

In mid 1980's, Vladimir Putin was a 30-year-old KGB officer working in the Soviet Union. He had recently been assigned to Dresden, East Germany, after completing his studies in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Here is kicker there is alleged photograph claimed to be of Putin. One author claim in was 1973. It could not of been in 1970's But it could of been much later late september1982 before Putin was posted to Dresden. Was this the alleged Kyritz Horsta? in 1983 he was married but there is no records of where he was in 1982.

Screenshot 2025-09-08 213902.webp


Screenshot 2025-09-07 115139.webp


By the end of 1984 he was in Desden. The alleged disappearance of Palladium disappeared in 1september 1982

Screenshot 2025-09-07 125644.webp

Putin was stationed in Dresden, East Germany, assigned to Line N of Directorate S. In this role, he oversaw the recruitment of "illegal" agents and coordinated activities between the local KGB office and the Dresden branch of East Germany's Ministry for State Security (Stasi) by 1989 Putin was promoted. There could be records in Stasi that might provide more clearer detailing on this alleged idenity of this Kyritz Horst?

Screenshot 2025-09-07 125324.webp


Was Kyritz Horsta cover name? The question remains was Putin Kyritz Horsta? If so? Who was the south Africans involved that would have financial means and political motivation to be involved in pulling off making 3 ton tons of Palladium disappear?


Crow
 
Last edited:
The fact remains in 1981 and 1982 prices was low. In 1981, palladium fell to below $100 an ounce, a period of unusually low prices for the metal. While specific annual average or high prices for 1981 are not provided in the available search snippets, it is clear from the context of the historical data that the price was very low compared to later years, even reaching below $100 an ounce during that time frame. The annual average closing price for palladium in 1984 was approximately $227.70 per ounce. This figure represents the average price for the entire year, though specific day or month prices would have varied throughout 1984.

Was this jump in price the consequence of loss of roughly 3% of the worlds palladium production?

Crow
 
There is of course many unanswered questions. Some we will never know for sure.the fog of smoke and mirrors I know really well.

Crow
 
If these alleged retired ex CIA operatives did not exist then why censor the names?
 
But was Putin involved in this alleged heist in south Africa? He certainly had an east German connection after 1982. Who was this so called famous Kyritz Horsta assassin for the KGB from east Germany? There is a another suspect.

Bohdan Stashynsky

Bohdan_Stashynsky.webp


KGB_agent_in_South_Africa.webp


Was he still working for KGB in 1982? He would of been 52 years old in 1982. Was he this alleged Kyritz Horsta?

Crow
 
Certainty The CIA had operatives in South Africa at the time? So was KGB. Canberra Times Thursday 24 November 1983, page 4 p2 reported the following. It does to a degree that both the CIA and KGB was operating in South Africa at the time of this alleged disappearance of Palladium?

Canberra Times Thursday 24 November 1983, page 4 p2.webp


Canberra Times Thursday 24 November 1983, page 4 p2 part 2.webp


Crow
 
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Wednesday 7 March 1984, page 5 Bohdan Stashynsky was granted asylum in south Africa

Canberra Times , Wednesday 7 March 1984, page 5.webp


There was a spike in prices. Was it deliberate conspiracy between the South Africans and Soviet union to manipulate the price of Palladium to increase at least four times in value?

If so was this conspiracy with the mining company's who would ultimate profit from this allege palladium heist. became the value of palladium quadrupled. If so did CIA operatives made money from this illicit manipulation of palladium price.

How and who is not clear. South Africa and the soviet union profited from the spike in prices.

Crow
 
Here you can see the south African concretion to the KGB.

Screenshot 2025-09-13 131330.webp


From the archives of the CIA above.

Crow
 
The KGB was embedded even in the ANC fighting the South African government at the time.

Canberra Times Sunday 1 March 1987, page 20 p1.webp


Canberra Times Sunday 1 March 1987, page 20 p2.webp

Canberra Times Sunday 1 March 1987, page 20 p3.webp


So you can see there was a lot of shifty things going on back then during the cold war.

Crow
 
Here you can see at least the KGB was very active in South Afrrica. Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Thursday 13 May 1982, page 6

Canberra Times Thursday 13 May 1982, page 6.webp


Crow
 
Another story of KGB in South Africa

Screenshot 2025-09-13 133452.webp


This was before this alleged September 1982 palladium heist.

Crow
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom