Contents of the looted Central Bank of Syria vault revealed

Following the collapse of the 61-year-old Baath regime, the Central Bank of Syria was looted, and the images sparked controversy.

The reserves in the Central Bank of Syria's vault have been revealed.

It was stated that the bank had a gold reserve of approximately 26 tons, which corresponds to about 2.2 billion dollars at current market prices. Furthermore, it was stated that there was only 200 million dollars in cash foreign currency reserves in the bank's vault.

According to a Reuters report, the Central Bank of Syria's gold reserves of approximately 26 tons have remained unchanged since 2011, and this figure corresponds to about 2.2 billion dollars at current market prices.

One of four sources speaking to Reuters stated that there was only 200 million dollars in cash foreign currency reserves in the Central Bank's vault, while another indicated that the dollar reserves were in the "hundreds of millions."

According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, the Central Bank held 14 billion dollars in foreign currency reserves at the end of 2011, when the civil war broke out. Current officials speaking to Reuters stated that during the Bashar al-Assad era, dollar reserves were used for military purposes, as well as to finance food and fuel.

Two news sources noted that the vault was inspected by Syria's new interim government last week. After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, looters entered some sections of the Central Bank of Syria in the capital, Damascus, but were unable to access the main vault. Syria's new authorities said that a portion of the looted amount had been recovered.