The Netherlands has no plans to try to recover 60,000 kilos of Dutch gold stolen by the Nazis during World War II and sold on to Switzerland, finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem has told MPs.

The cabinet took a formal decision not to pursue a claim for the gold back in 2000 but did not inform parliament at the time, Dijsselbloem said.

He was responding to questions about the gold from Christian Democrat MP Eddy Van Hijum. Those questions were prompted by a new book about the gold by journalist Roel Janssen who believes there is a chance the gold could be recovered.

The gold would be worth around €2bn at today’s prices, Nos television said.