In a story published yesterday (Cash for gold warning after home theft) we neglected to give Gold Standard the chance to respond to accusations levelled at them regarding the sale to them of two stolen rings.

We regret not doing so, and are happy to publish their comments below.

“Recently, there have been articles in the Royal Gazette regarding two incidents of stolen goods that passed through our business in 2013. While the criminals responsible for the thefts were apprehended, the items were not able to be recovered. We appreciate The Royal Gazette giving us the opportunity to respond to these stories.

“We feel that two points related to these stories deserve clarification. In the first story – dated January 21 – the timeline presented gives the impression that we were at one time knowingly in possession of stolen goods and deliberately sent them overseas regardless. In the police inquiry that followed, we were absolved of any wrongdoing thanks to the paper trail we had confirming that this was not the case. In the February 10 article there are no dates given regarding the incident in question which may give the impression that it was a recent event when it actually occurred early in 2013. This impression would inevitably call into question our stated resolve to uphold our holding period policy made after the earlier report; again, this is simply not the case.

“Though these types of events are very rare, in light of there being limited formal regulations regarding our type of business, it has been our own policy to hold items for a minimum of 7-days prior to sending them overseas for refinement. Regrettably, this policy was not maintained in these two instances. This lapse brought about several immediate changes in our internal processes to ensure that it does not happen in the future.

“As we came to realize how our business could be misused during our early years of operation, our stated goal has been to make our business the last one a would-be criminal would patronize. To date, our cooperation with authorities has assisted in the arrest and conviction of dozens of criminals as well as the recovery of thousands of dollars in stolen goods. “However, we acknowledge there is still work to be done as we work toward this goal. We welcome any formal regulation that is put into place to safeguard the public from potential abuses of our service. In the interim, we are redoubling our efforts to be vigilant. To the handful that would seek to use our business for ill-gotten gain, make no mistake – you will be caught and you will be prosecuted.

“We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the thousands of customers that use our services each year - resulting in over $8 million being injected into the economy to date. We are truly grateful - not only for your patronage, but also for the affirmation that the service we provide is a useful one. We stand ready to serve you and the rest of the Bermuda public and hope to do so for many years to come.”