No More Fancy Gold/ Silver Charts? Kitco the Object of Massive Tax Fraud Probe

Many of our readers' favorite pastime is clicking refresh on kitco's quote page every 3-4 seconds (especially during rallies like the one in April when silver was vaulting $1-$2/day).  We may soon have to find a new pastime, or else a new source for fancy gold and silver charts, as kitco just may not be around much longer.
The Financial Post reports today that Kitco has been charged with massive $150 million tax fraud involving gold.  Apparently, kitco was allegedly using artificial transactions to obtain refunds of taxes they had never actually paid.
On the positive side, this may give us some temporary relief from Jon Nadler's commentary.

From FP:

Revenue Quebec investigates widespread gold fraud

One of the targeted sites was the downtown Montreal location of Kitco, a major buyer and seller of gold. A note on the floor of its office on Thursday said that “operational constraints” had forced the service counter to close this week.
The company strongly denied any allegations in a statement Friday.
“Kitco Metals Inc. has never participated in any tax fraud, nor has it ever carried out any fictitious transactions. In all respects, Kitco vigorously contests all aspects of Revenu Québec’s investigation,” it said.
The company said it has asked Superior Court of Québec to appoint an interim receiver so that it may continue normal operations under the supervision of the accounting firm RSM Richter. The action was taken “to allow for the time required to vigorously contest Revenu Québec’s unfounded claims.”

Revenue Quebec said two networks of companies and individuals were at the heart of a false-billing scheme that had cost the province more than $150 million in tax on almost $2 billion in transactions.
In addition to Kitco and Carmen International Inc., it said almost 125 other companies had been complicit in the scheme.
In a communique, Revenue Quebec said that by converting pure gold into a gold object and then refining it back into a pure state, some in the gold industry had used “artificial transactions” to obtain refunds of taxes that were never actually paid.
The Montreal company has a high international profile in the precious metals sector.
Its website, Kitco.com, offers an array of commodity prices and commentary and has garnered a wide following.
It regularly hosts industry events and earlier this spring, expanded its Hong Kong office, burnishing the image of an international player that straddles North America and Asia. It also has offices in the U.S. and China.
Kitco buys and sells a host of precious metal products, ranging from scrap gold to palladium and rhodium. It has a metal refining business and provides secure storage of precious metals for individuals and corporations.