British Nazi gold hunter Ian Sayer requested that United States President Donald Trump declassify American archive records on Nazi crimes to help recover stolen assets.
The 80-year-old investigator, who has conducted private inquiries for nearly 50 years, believes the files contain data that could help return looted valuables to victims' families, according to a report by the Daily Star. Sayer gained prominence in the 1990s after locating two swastika-stamped gold bars worth 2.4 million pounds sterling, equivalent to 261 million rubles at modern exchange rates, in the German Federal Bank. The bank subsequently admitted storing additional Third Reich bars in its vaults, which Sayer maintains were made from gold seized from victims across Europe.
Sayer stated that releasing the archives would not create sensations, but would instead open routine paperwork such as receipts, payment slips, and accounting records. He said these documents provide a tangible, traceable trail rather than guesswork, adding that items that can be traced can be returned.
Cold War secrecy and looted treasure
Many documents remained secret despite the United States passing the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act in 1998. The ongoing classification was linked to American intelligence agencies viewing several former Nazi figures as potential allies against the Soviet Union following the start of the Cold War, which kept information about their crimes concealed.
Efforts to uncover World War II treasures continue across Europe. In November 2025, Polish researchers searching for the legendary Nazi gold train announced they had discovered a portion of it hidden in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
