
Her Majesty’s High Court of Justice in England has determined that Venezuelan gold stored in the vaults of the Bank of England must be managed by Central Bank of Venezuela officials appointed by opposition leader Juan Guaido. The management of this gold reserve, made up of 31 tons of this precious metal, has been disputed since 2019 when Guaido asked the Bank of England to freeze these assets in order to avoid a possible sale.
London High Court rules in favor of opposition leader Juan Guaido
The saga of Venezuelan gold stored in the vaults of the Bank of England seems to be coming to an end. The High Court in London has determined that the management of the 31 tons of gold corresponds to Juan Guaido, the leader of the opposition who proposed an alternative government in the country in 2019.
According to the sentence, due to the recognition that the English government has of Guaido as interim president of Venezuela, the decisions of the country’s Supreme Court, which ignored Guaido’s right to manage this gold, were ignored. The judge said:
I have … concluded that Guaido’s advice succeeds: that the judgments of the Venezuelan Supreme Court are not likely to be recognized.
Guaido’s team viewed this as a victory and viewed the move as “a step towards protecting Venezuela’s sovereign gold reserves for the benefit of the Venezuelan people.” However, President Maduro’s government has prepared to appeal the decision, considering it an “unfortunate decision”. Even with this ruling, Guaido won’t be able to move that gold until the case is fully resolved.
Not your coffers, not your gold
The process involving the seizure of gold due to Guaido’s petition and the whole legal battle between the country’s two parallel governments originated worries on the confidence that third parties can have when they hold assets held abroad. The final decision will also determine how the UK government may adjudicate similar cases involving government disputes in the future.
Maduro’s government has been seeking to repossess these assets since 2020 when the Central Bank of Venezuela wanted to sell these assets to help people cope with the covid-19 pandemic, a request that has been refuse at the time. The institution declared:
The BCV remains concerned that the cumulative effect of the English Court’s judgments appears to grant a mere declaration by the British government recognizing as head of state a person without effective control or power over any part of that state.
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