What gold does Venezuela keep in London? British court rules between Maduro and Guaidó

The Supreme Court of Great Britain will examine from Monday which, between Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó, corresponds to the contested control of billion dollars in gold reserves of Venezuela deposited with the Bank of England.

Five magistrates of the highest jurisdiction will hear between Monday and Thursday the arguments of the two parties in this trial which began more than a year ago and which saw the English justice. alternately agree with one and the other.

It is a question of determining “whether the British government has recognized interim President Guaidó as head of state of Venezuela and, if so, whether any challenge to the validity of the appointments made by Guaidó to the board of directors of the Central Bank of Venezuela is justiciable in an English court ”, explained the court.

More than 30 tons of gold

The Maduro government, through the Central Bank of Venezuela chaired by Calixto Ortega, has been trying unsuccessfully to recover for nearly three years. 32 tons of gold from the national reserve, valued at $ 1 billion, which he kept in the vaults of the Bank of England.

But the National Assembly of Venezuela, then dominated by the opposition and chaired by Guaidó, appointed its own ad hoc leadership of the Venezuelan Central Bank in July 2019 and asked London not to hand over the bars, arguing that they could be used to suppress the people. or line the pockets of a regime he describes as a “kleptocratic”.

But, assuring that he needed money to fight the covid-19 pandemic, Caracas filed a lawsuit in May 2020 against the Bank of England and argued the case was urgent due to the humanitarian crisis.

But the institution, which keeps funds for many countries, said it had been caught between two rival groups giving him conflicting instructions and asked the courts that before deciding on the final destination of the gold, it should be decided who has control of it.

Judgment and Appeal

Since then, a London commercial court ruled in July 2020 that the British government had recognized Guaidó as interim president and that the “one voice doctrine” gave him the power to tell the country where the country’s funds were going to the government. foreign. .

But three months later, the Court of Appeal remanded the case, ruling that this recognition could in fact be a simple political statement and that it was possible that Boris Johnson’s executive would continue to “de facto” recognize the Maduro administration.

In December, the Supreme Court allowed Guaidó’s representatives to appeal the order and in April the opposing party to cross-appeal.

“After 12 months, the case continues to analyze preliminary issues related to the authority,” Maduro’s lawyers lamented in a statement Friday.

“Until the appeal is decided, Juan Guaidó continues to be recognized by the UK as the only legitimate and constitutional president of Venezuela, without official recognition of Maduro,” opposition lawyers said.

Guaidó ceased to preside over the National Assembly following the December legislatures – boycotted by almost all of the opposition and marked by a strong abstention of 69% – which returned control of Parliament to Maduro.

London does not recognize the legitimacy of the new chamber and he reiterated his support for Guaidó and the elected National Assembly in 2015. But, he continues to maintain his embassy in Caracas and minimal diplomatic relations with the Bolivarian administration, and the government uses it to assert its legitimacy .

The existence of two rival “presidents” has long made it difficult for the Venezuelan government to access the country’s funds in the international financial system.

If the British Supreme Court eventually comes to an agreement with the board of directors of the Central Bank of Venezuela appointed by Guaidó, it would set a precedent that the opposition hopes to use to recover Venezuelan assets deposited in other central banks. European.

Source: AFP

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