British Court Overturns Decision Favorable to Guaidó on Access to Venezuela’s Gold

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The judicial dispute between the Nicolás Maduro regime and the Bank of England over access to the 31 tons of gold ingots (worth approximately €887 million or R$5.8 billion) deposited in the British institution’s safe deposit box seems to have no end.

On Monday, the London Court of Appeals overturned last July’s Superior Court decision that rejected the delivery of the reserves requested by Maduro to Caracas, calling for further investigations and evidence to support the claims.

The lower court’s argument was that the British government had recognized Juan Guaidó as acting president of Venezuela, and therefore the Bank of England was not authorized to grant these funds to Maduro, but rather to Guaidó.

The July decision provided great support from the British judiciary to the president of the South American nation’s National Assembly, recognized as acting president by over 50 countries. But this Monday’s decision represents a reversal.

In its decision, the Court of Appeals states that it is legally possible to recognize de iure (by law) the authority of a country while maintaining de facto relations with the one that actually holds power.

“No discussion was made in this regard as to whether Her Majesty’s government would continue to maintain diplomatic relations with Mr. Maduro’s representatives by receiving in the Court of St. James the credentials of the ambassador appointed by Mr. Maduro and by continuing to maintain an embassy in Venezuela with an ambassador accredited by Mr. Maduro,” the decision says.

The London Court of Appeals considers the statement by then British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt to be ambiguous, when, in February 2019, he recognized Juan Guaidó as “acting president of Venezuela,” because the British government also continued to recognize Nicolás Maduro’s administration.

This confusion of legitimacy between the two leaders as rulers of one country, Venezuela, led the Court to initiate a thorough investigation to determine which of the two political opponents is in control of the funds.

“Before being able to provide a definitive answer to the issues of recognition (…), it will be necessary to determine whether His Majesty’s government recognizes Mr. Guaidó as president of Venezuela for all purposes and therefore does not recognize Mr. Maduro as president for any purpose,” the ruling says.

Maduro’s government had requested the return of the gold, alledgedly to transfer it to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and thus ease the purchase of “health supplies, medicine and basic foods” that would enable the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bank of England, along with the Federal Reserve (US Central Bank), is the largest international guardian of gold reserves. It keeps in its vaults some 400,000 ingots, valued at over €200 billion (R$1.3 billion).

Last year, Guaidó directly requested then Prime Minister Theresa May not to return the gold to the Maduro regime. The move was endorsed by British parliamentarians. Last February, the current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, warmly supported the opposition leader’s trip across Europe.

Source: El País