The President’s Intent Nicolás Maduro to gain control of some $2 billion in Venezuelan gold which is based in the UK suffered a setback on Friday when the Court of Appeal for England dismissed its Administration’s appeal and sent it back to the Commercial Court.
The Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal submitted by the Maduro government and said the Commercial Court should determine the future course of the case, on the basis that opposition leader Juan Guaidó is no longer recognized by the UK government as president of Venezuela, according to the decision.
The gold, which is stored in the vaults of the Bank of England, represents a significant part of the US$5.2 billion in international reserves of Venezuela, excluding special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund that the country currently cannot access.
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Maduro and Guaidó have been fighting in court to gain control of the gold. The legal battle became complicated after Guaidó, who in 2019 was recognized as the legitimate president of Venezuela by dozens of governments around the world, was removed from office by his allies in January, creating uncertainty about who represents the interests of the country.
In September, Maduro received permission to appeal the ruling of a London judge which held that the decisions of the Venezuelan Supreme Court, which upheld the rights of the government-controlled central bank board to access gold, could not be recognized. The change in Guaidó’s recognition does not alter that decision, the appeals court said on Friday.
What should the British Commercial Court consider regarding Venezuelan gold?
“The next clear step is that the Commercial Court consider the impact of this change of circumstances, including the cancellation of the recognition of Mr. Guaidó by His Majesty’s Government following the recent political events in Venezuela,” said Sarosh Zaiwalla, senior partner at Zaiwalla & Co., who represents the Maduro-appointed central bank board in the case.
The situation calls for an investigation to establish who, in the absence of formal recognition by the UK Government, it must be considered that it governs Venezuela, he added.
LM