Still. A civilized society doesn't give every single person in a uniform the licence to tackle, kill and assault whomever without facing any real consequences. Sure, the money's nice, but not getting tackled would've surely been much more civilized.
Aunt Tifa hit a double-jackpot. Second, the money. But first and foremost - she's still alive. She's also white, which might have more causal relationships with her getting said jackpot than should be the case in a civilized society.
The problem is that not everyone has either her luck or her complexion.
I'd choose gold. AFAIK most all money laundering rules deal with cash.
Even if a geine were to give you 500 tons of cash or gold, some governments may have a problem with that and choose to redistribute it.
Choosing gold makes the value much more liquid in my opinion.
Not to mention that gold doesn't rot (unlike USD). In today's economy gold is probably more value-dense (as in, a pound of gold is worth more than a pound of hundered-dollar bills).
Currencies also come and go but gold stays. If you're thinking long-term, gold is the vastly better choice.