Court Overturns Ruling on Venezuelan Gold in the Bank of England Vaults

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): A British appeals court has ruled in favour of the Nicolas Maduro government in Venezuela. It turned down the lower court ruling that the UK government had indisputably recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president. It recommended that the legal fight over the frozen Venezuelan gold worth $1 billion should be reconsidered. This has opened ways for the Maduro administration to gain control of the gold reserve stored in the Bank of England vaults.

In his ruling, Judge Stephen Males observed that the UK’s recognition of Guaido as the country’s interim president is ambiguous and less than unequivocal. He ordered Foreign Office to clarify on whether it accepts the fact that Maduro exercises power on the ground as president.

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Sarosh Zaiwalla, a lawyer for the Maduro-appointed central bank noted that the lower court judgement had led to a completely unrealistic situation, by preventing access to substantial central bank gold deposits in London. Meantime, Vanessa Neumann, Guaido’s envoy in London noted that the UK Foreign Ministry will continue its support to Guaido and that the court is unlikely to hand over the gold to the Maduro administration.