Who should have control of Venezuela's gold in London? Continue the legal battle

UK denies Maduro access to gold reserves 1:07

(Reuters) --

A long legal battle between Venezuela's disputed President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó over who should have control of the more than $1.5 billion in gold reserves stored in the Bank of England resumed on Wednesday at the High Court in London.

The UK Supreme Court ruled last year that Guaidó should be recognized as the country's head of state, following the position of the British government, and that he had the authority to determine the future of the 31 tons of bullion that are deposited in the Bank. from England.

The Superior Court will now address the question of how to deal with the rulings of the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela that the appointments of Guaidó as well as of an administrative board of the Central Bank of Venezuela are not valid.

"At stake is the question of whether the English courts can judge the validity of decisions made by the high court of another sovereign nation," said Sarosh Zaiwalla, a partner at law firm Zaiwalla & Co., which represents the central bank led by Ripe.

UK blocks Maduro's access to gold reserves 2:39

Lawyers representing Guaidó's board of directors declined to comment, according to Reuters.

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The lawsuit, filed after the Bank of England refused to allow access to the gold until the dispute was resolved, will be heard alongside a similar case about who in Venezuela should have access to some $120 million, currently in dispute. hands of receivers following the execution of a gold swap by Deutsche Bank.

Maduro, who was re-elected in 2018 in a vote that Venezuelan opponents and some Western nations consider a sham, had said he wanted to sell some of the gold during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to serve Venezuela's health service.

Guaidó, who has been recognized by the United Kingdom and the United States as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, alleges that the issuing entity led by Maduro wants to appropriate the gold and that, therefore, it must be kept in London.