Not too long ago an American tried to bring in way over $10 grand in gold bricks. He was arrested, gold ws confiscated and put in Central Bank. I just read somewhere where most of the gold was released but the man received a very steep fine. I think I read that gold must be declared to the central bank, any amount. You should contact Ecuador's Central Bank for precise information. Speak to a few people. Speak to more people at the bank that you use here in Ecuador, i.e., Pichincha, Internacional, Austro, etc.

Regarding bringing your gold coins down here---I would visit a jeweler and have a nice silver frame made for your gold coins with a nice chain and wear one down when you come, your relatives can wear one too.

When the Ecuadorians are faced with something that they do not understand, usually they take the defensive. I would get ahold of your nearest Ecuadorian Consulate up there and request to speak to someone who knows the banking laws here very well. I would speak to several people.

Here is something, albeit older, found on the Pro-Ecuador Website, and you can do a follow up with Gary Phillips to see if he has current info.

"We recently had a question from a reader whether it is legal to bring gold into Ecuador, and to buy and sell gold. Acutally, I have had this question twice in the last week.

Pro-Ecuador.com’s Martha Perez went to work looking for an answer. She didn’t have to look far because her sister owns a jewelry store in Quito.

The answer is yes, it is legal to bring gold to Ecuador from the U.S. or other countries, and you can buy and sell it here. In fact, one of the banks has a transport service to securely transport gold from the U.S. to Ecuador, which is nice if you have a significant amount.

We are searching out the details of this program now, and will report when we have it all together. Stay tuned.

It is also possible to hand carry gold, although perhaps not that wise. If you do carry any cash, stock certificates, gold or silver with a value more than $10,000, you must declare it on your customs form. It doesn’t mean it is illegal to do it, you just have to declare it, and you may have to answer some questions from customs officers.

Personally, that is a situation I would prefer to avoid in this travel climate."

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I wrote this a while back:

"I have never been to Ecuador most of opinion is based on what I have read combined with business experience here in the US. There was a client Gary Scott who complained that there was no outlet for selling gold coins at a near market price. The best he could do was go to a jewelry shop and get a price similar to what scrap gold is purchased at, 33% - 66% of market. I would think Ecuador could benefit from a business that works on a smaller margin. A refinery to handle all the scrap and mining gold there. However I can imagine all the road blocks the tax authorities would put up that would make such a business near impossible to establish there. But there must be some outlet for the retail stores and small miners to sell their scrap/ore to. I just wonder what their cut would be and do they deal in cash and what kind of record keeping they do. These are some of the things I wanted to explore if I ever go there."


Also I have been asked what is he best company to buy gold and silver from in the US. A friend of mine has had the best service and price from Lear Capital. They accept checks and keep you posted every step of the way by e-mail. An agreement on what to purchase and at what cost is first made over the phone. The customer has 2 days according to the post mark to send the check. Once it arrives notification is sent and when it clears the bank, order shipped, tracking number and so on. The prices I have been told is closest to spot. I personally do not buy gold coins or bars as I am a gold refiner and I make my own gold shot from the refining process. But for everyone else gold coins of the recognized national mints are the way to go in my opinion.

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I just read boncur's post. I have always had the feeling dealing with gold in and into Ecuador would be problematic. Her post confirms this. I would risk only a few one ounce gold coins going into test the waters and see how they are handled in the country and through customs.

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Actually, there are 'two sides to every coin.' If you have "connections" in this very lawless and corrupt country, you could show up at any bank, Pichincha is a good one, and be ushered into the 'back room.' It is all who you know.

That said, one thing to note is that the biggest gold mines in the world are in the Andes Mountains of South America, with Peru boasting the biggest, most developed and richest so far. But Ecuador is in the same neighborhood; only we need some big mega miners to come in and start to demolish the Mother Earth to get it out. Many informal little 'mom and pop' gold panning operations out there that Correa wants to eliminate now. With the July 21 FOMINE, mining consortium (Marriott Hotel, Quito), many gold mining companies, the biggest in the world, are coming here to 'see what they can do.' The country needs funds and the gold is here. Unfortunately, many poisons are used in the extraction of gold: arsenic, mercury, cyanide, and more, which is dangerous to people and livestock, drinking water, etc.

Here is an interesting tidbit.....95% of gold is smuggled out of Ecuador?
http://www.bnamericas.com/news/metals/Most_Gold_Exports_Smuggled

Maxx is completely right on, little by little is the way to bring your 'stash' here, provided you do not have huge amounts of bricks, and if you did, you would not be coming here!

And I would love to hear of any information that potential gold holders get from the Central Bank of Ecuador regarding their treasure. I wonder what Stan Grist (the gold-mining adventurer) would say about this.
http://www.stangrist.com/

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Thanks to all for your input. I agree that APMEX is one of the best places to buy gold in the USA. Chris Weber recommends it and two other firms, but from my experience they are all three very much in line with each other, relative to the fees charged over spot.

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I can confirm that customs is looking for everything so I agree with what was said about making the coins into jewelry and wear them. If they are packed in baggage then you could be at the mercy of customs and I was told by a customs agent in Quito that this government is cracking down.

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Vandtor is correct, stakes are high now with all the gringos coming in and the aduanas are much more alert these days. This happened about a month ago and recently I just read that either he or his bricks were released. The whole thing is hard to believe--just the weight alone! The fine alone is more money than some people will see in a lifetime.

"Seized 22 gold bars at the airport in Guayaquil
$400 thousand dollar fine!

"ElTiempo.com.ec reports that custom officials in the Guayaquil airport arrested a United States citizen from Alabama, Andrew G., arriving on Delta Airlines. The American was trying to enter Ecuador with 22 gold bars, valued at USD 1,072,000 that was not declared at the customs checkpoint. Police investigating the case say that the probable destination was Vilcabamba in the Loja province, where the American was going to buy land. The American will have to pay USD 400,000 for not declaring the money. The lawyer of the arrested says that his client is from a wealthy family and wanted to buy land for his grandparents and him. The judge on the case has ordered that the gold bars be secured in the vaults of the Central Bank of Ecuador until a ruling is made. "

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Ecuador is being usual government brain dead stupid with their gold positioning. They should be encouraging people to bring in gold and make it easy to trade and use in their country. They could benefit greatly if they converted their fiat based economy into a asset based economy. But rather they are looking short term in getting max tax revenue and even that will not be what they want. What fools!

BTW gold hit a record of $1,607.00 / troy oz today

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Maxxgold...I couldn't agree with you more...and to think...the president has a degree in economics from the USA. Come to think of it...that may be the problem. lol

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I think it is in the nature of Ecuadorian people to have a short term vision, for whatever historical or cultural reason. They are 'child-like' and with that comes 'instant gratification.' They are also exceptionally GOOD people and have many good qualities as well, however, I will never understand it. When we were in the handicraft export biz. for 10 years, people here knew that every year we would be back and ordering more and more from them, but some bit us in the very beginning, not having the long term vision...

So sorry to hear about the Corruption in the Galapagos. It is here on all levels, and is just accepted by all, another cultural anomaly. I am surprised that it actually surfaced. Someone who tattled may not have been getting his cut...

Correa is not really thinking along good, sustainable economic lines, I think he is too emotional to be pragmatic.

For example, here, they have treated many big European companies, Repsol, Spanish and French communications Co., etc., as suspect and in the end, they were abused and either told to leave or pulled out. So they do not come here to invest. Correa is very cocky now because he thinks he has all the chinese dollars, and the oil, and the new mining exploration to come. He has been one of the better leaders though!

Right now Colombia is doing what Mexico did years ago, offering incentives for businesses to come, like a number of years without taxes, if the industry is big enough, the gov't. will give the land for company to be built....they want jobs for their people! They should do something like that here and be more friendly to investors.

Another thought on this terrible large-scale alcohol disaster. In the last few years, Correa has imposed the highest taxes in the world on imported items, yet the country produces little. So here you have a bottle of low quality chilean wine for $8-9 in the store...Concha y Toro (just run of the mill) about $10 and upwards. You can buy this same wine for 30% cheaper in the states. A restaurant in Otavalo is charging $30 for a bottle of C and Toro in their place, and then they will add the tax and service! All imported liquor is extremely expensive now, even something that should be $4-5 is $12 or more! About 6 years ago Spanish Brandy Fundador used to be about $12-14, now it is over $30....Actually I thought that trade among so. American countries (Chilean wine) would be cheaper in order to foster good trade....

So before you would see smaller batches of this moonshine made, and show up here and there, but when I read that there were big 50 gallon drums of the stuff, and probably made down there around Banos, Ambato as that is sugar cane country.....and it probably is made now for business and big profit as the campesinos cannot afford bottles of 'cheap rum' for their parties. Where there is opportunity, a business will spring up, and unfortunately these people were amateurs. It is actually the fault of the government here for taxing imports too much. I think bootleg medicines are related to this also.

It's a shame. The country has alot to offer, and there could be 'clean industry' invited here. Probably why thievery is up, these young kids have no jobs, see all this stuff to buy, it's expensive, and, they go out and get it somehow. We need more capitalism here!

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Answer to the question is there someone or a business that will buy and sell gold and silver at market price in Ecuador I have recently been referred to and have done business with www.incamint.com they are located in Cuenca I sold gold at spot and bought silver coins at market.

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rburk, that is good information. The website looks very professional, and anyone wishing to do business can further investigate them also. I'm sure this will help alot of people. Coins may be the way to go.

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achiku, they used to be called The Gold and Silver shop so they have been around for a few years they are also backed by other precious metal projects including mining, to make a long story short I was able to sell most of my metals in the US and I then repurchased online and when I arrived they had them already to be picked up. I was referred by two different people living in Cuenca when I did my due diligence.

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I hope you don't rely on Martha Perez for anything. She stole money from a person she was suppose to help but abandoned with all his cash. Lots of excuses and promises to repay but never did. So she will now have to be sued in Provincial court for her criminal acts.

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