What was claimed
A video shows a C-17 plane stealing Venezuela's gold from the UK central bank.
Our verdict
False. The video shows an Australian C-17 flying over Brisbane.
AAP FACTCHECK - A video of a military plane flying low through a city does not show a US heist of Venezuelan gold from the UK central bank.
It actually shows a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) plane during a Brisbane airshow in 2024.
Following the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, there has been speculation about the country’s gold reserves held by the Bank of England.
The lender holds at least GBP1.4 billion ($2.8 billion) of the nation's gold, The Guardian reported.
Claims that the US had seized Venezuelan gold spread on social media after a report on X that US Air Force C-17 Globemasters had landed in the UK before departing for Germany.
State broadcaster Russia Today (RT) shared footage on X of a C-17 flying through a cityscape, saying planes had "come in to loot Venezuela's $3b tonnes of gold".
RT's X post also included a screenshot of another X post that claimed the C-17 was "coming to loot $3.34 billion (31 tonnes) of gold belonging to the Central Bank of Venezuela from Bank of England vaults."
"And Westminster will be complicit, as it was in 2019 when it expropriated the gold at US request."
The RT post has been reshared on Facebook.
The video depicts a C-17 plane flying over a river with skyscrapers visible on either side. The plane banks to follow the river through the city.
However, the footage shared by RT and others doesn't show C-17s flying in England.
A reverse image search reveals that the video was actually posted on YouTube more than a year ago, on September 5, 2024.
It shows an RAAF C-17 doing a low flyover through Brisbane for the annual Riverfire festival.
The air stunt is a regular feature of the annual festival.
The bridge visible at the start of the video is the Captain Cook Bridge in Brisbane, which is visible on Google Maps.
The tall building on the left side of the frame (timestamp 12 seconds) is located on the riverfront in Brisbane and can also be seen on Google Maps.
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