Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Battle for Venezuelan Gold Heads to UK Supreme Court as No 10 Insists Guaido ‘Legitimate President’

Battle for Venezuelan Gold Heads to UK Supreme Court as No 10 Insists Guaido ‘Legitimate President’

The failure of the January 2019 Venezuelan coup attempt by opposition leader Juan Guaido prompted the US and its Latin American and European allies including Britain to seize tens of billions of dollars’ worth of Venezuelan government assets abroad, ranging from oil companies to gold bullion. Caracas has fought to get these assets back.

The British government has reiterated its continued support for Juan Guaido in the legal campaign for the estimated $1.2 billion in Venezuelan gold bullion stuck in a Bank of England vault.

“The UK government is clear that Juan Guaido has been recognized by Her Majesty’s Government since February 2019 as the only legitimate President of Venezuela,” the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement late Monday.

The statement came as Britain’s Supreme Court started hearings Monday to determine whether the Bank of England should be made to transfer the gold, which represents about 15 percent of Venezuela’s foreign currency reserves, back to the democratically-elected Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro, or allow Guaido’s self-proclaimed ‘government’ to claim it.

In its statement, the FCO referred to the Maduro government as “the illegitimate Maduro regime” and stressed that it would oppose any gold transfer back to Caracas.

“The UK government has the right to decide who to recognize as the legitimate head of a foreign state. The UK recognizes Juan Guaido as President of Venezuela and consequently he is the only individual recognized to have the authority to act on behalf of Venezuela as its head of state,” an FCO spokesperson said. “Venezuela needs a peaceful transition to democracy with free and fair elections, both legislative and presidential,” the spokesperson added.

In its formal argument to the Supreme Court, the UK government bases its argument on the principle of recognition, and cites decades of British foreign policy going back a century to conclude that foreign assets seized by the UK cannot be transferred back to their respectful owners if the UK does not recognize those owners’ authority over their countries.

Leigh Crestohl, a lawyer representing the Venezuelan government, suggested that the British government’s politicized position threatens to mar the reputations of both the City of London and the Bank of England.

“International observers to this case may be surprised by the possibility that a unilateral statement of political recognition by the UK government can dispossess a foreign sovereign of assets deposited in London without any recourse in the English Court,” Crestohl said in a statement. “This is all the more so where that recognition ignores the reality on the ground.”

The Bank of England and the City of London financial district in London, Britain, November 5, 2020


Caracas has sought the repatriation of its 31 tonne stockpile of gold from the UK since late 2018, first approaching the Bank of England to do so in December of that year. The BoE stalled, allowing 17 tonnes of gold to be returned, but keeping its hands on the remaining 14 tonnes. In January 2019, when Guaido proclaimed himself the country’s president, London proceeded to ignore Venezuelan government requests altogether.

Guaido’s ‘government’, already accused of plundering hundreds of millions of dollars in Venezuelan government assets transferred to its control, wants the remaining gold to be handed over to its control.

The British Supreme Court battle comes in the wake of London’s rejection of an earlier ruling by a lower court which concluded in October 2020 that the gold belongs to the Maduro government.

Maduro was reelected for a second term as president in May 2018. In January 2019, weeks after his second inauguration, opposition leader Guaido proclaimed himself the country’s ‘interim president’ and called for protesters and the army to topple Maduro. Guaido was immediately recognized by Washington and its Latin American and European allies, while Russia, China and others dismissed Guaido’s claim to power. Washington seized tens of billions of dollars in Venezuelan government assets abroad, including cash and gold stuck in vaults, and Citgo, the US-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s national oil company, PDVSA.

Some of these assets have since been quietly transferred to Guaido’s control, leading to scandals as funds and USAID cash were siphoned off and embezzled into private accounts. Amid these scandals, Venezuelan Prosecutor General William Saab has accused Guido and his supporters of acting less like an opposition and more like a “mafia.”

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×