Court rules Venezuelan gold to stay in Bank of England vaults

Nicolas Maduro has failed to reclaim £800 million (NZ$1.5 billion) of gold held in Bank of England vaults after the High Court ruled that Britain had ‘‘unequivocally recognised’’ the Venezuelan opposition leader as president.

The Central Bank of Venezuela, which is controlled by Maduro, took legal action to release the gold, claiming that it was needed to help the country fight the coronavirus pandemic. However, lawyers for the Bank of England said that it was ‘‘caught in the middle’’ of rival claims from

Maduro and Juan Guaido, who declared himself acting president in January 2019.

Mr Justice Teare said yesterday: ‘‘Her Majesty’s government does recognise Mr Guaido in the capacity of the constitutional interim president of Venezuela and, it must follow, does not recognise Mr Maduro as the constitutional interim president of Venezuela.’’

Before the ruling, Jorge Arreaza, Maduro’s foreign minister, tweeted: ‘‘The #UK has been Washington’s most subservient disciple in the aggression against Venezuela. It supported the illegal coup strategy . . . and it violates

human rights by trying to steal the gold of all Venezuelans during a pandemic.’’

At a four-day preliminary hearing, Nicholas Vineall, QC, for the Maduro board, said that recognising Guaido as head of state would be ‘‘an impermissible intervention in the affairs of Venezuela’’ and unlawful under international law.

Vineall said that the British government ‘‘does not approve of the Maduro government’’ but ‘‘continues to recognise the Maduro government’’, sending an ambassador to Venezuela and receiving Maduro’s representative.

Maduro, who became president of Venezuela after the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013, was sworn in for a second term last year amid claims of voterigging in the 2018 election, which was boycotted by opposition parties.

A month after Guaido declared himself acting president in January last year Jeremy Hunt, then the foreign secretary, said that Britain recognised him as ‘‘the constitutional interim president of Venezuela until credible presidential elections can be held’’.

Andrew Fulton, representing the rival Guaido board, said that Britain ‘‘has decided to recognise Juan Guaido as the constitutional interim president of Venezuela and has denounced the ‘illegitimate, kleptocratic Maduro regime’.’’

Sarosh Zaiwalla, a London solicitor acting for the Central Bank of Venezuela, said that it would seek leave of the Court of Appeal to challenge the judgment, ‘‘which it considers entirely ignores the reality of the situation on the ground’’. He claimed that Maduro’s government was ‘‘in complete control of Venezuela and its administrative institutions’’. –

Nicolas Maduro is not recognised by some countries as the legitimate leader of Venezuela. His rival Juan Guaido declared himself acting president in January 2019.