UK Court of Appeals decides on Venezuela's gold
- Written by Redacción ¡ahora!
- Published in World
- Hits: 7332
The British Court of Appeals examines the Venezuelan government's appeal against the Bank of England for refusing to hand over its gold reserves deposited in British vaults.
The British justice ruled against the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) On July 2nd, determining that the 30 tons of gold, whose value exceeds one billion dollars should be delivered to the board appointed by the self-proclaimed president of Venezuela, Juan Guaido.
According to the judge of the commercial court where the case was elucidated, Guaido was recognized 'unequivocally' as the legitimate president of Venezuela in 2019 by then-Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom, Jeremy Hunt.
BCV lawyers argue, however, that London never broke diplomatic relations with the government of the constitutional president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro, and that both governments keep their ambassadors in London and Caracas.
One of the key points that will be decided in this appeal is whether the Bank of England must accept the instructions on the destination of the gold from the current president of the BCV, elected under Venezuelan law, or from a virtual president appointed by Guaido, and who does not even live in Venezuela, the lawyers representing the BCV explained.
The firm's lead lawyer, Sarosh Zaiwalla, commented for his part, that the case calls into question the international perception that British institutions are free from political interference, and the Bank of England's reputation as a safe custodian of wealth from other countries.
Zaiwalla also recalled that the main interest of the Venezuelan bank in recovering its gold reserves is to obtain funds to buy essential equipment and medicines to fight the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.