Venezuela’s Maduro regime loses final step in UK gold case

The rival Venezuelan government of opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Friday it was one step closer to taking control of the oil-rich country’s gold reserves following the latest ruling by a British court.

Supreme Court Justice Sara Cockerill ruled in a technical ruling against President Nicolas Maduro’s regime over Guaido’s appointments to the Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV).

She noted that decisions by the Venezuelan Supreme Court blocking appointments could not be recognized in English law.

One factor cited by Cockerill was “clear evidence” that the Supreme Court was staffed with pro-Maduro judges.

“This is an unfortunate ruling that ultimately rests on a narrow legal issue of recognizing foreign judgments,” said Sarosh Zaiwalla of the law firm Zaiwalla and Co, which represents Maduro-backed BCV.

“BCV is considering an appeal,” he added.

However, in a statement, Guaido expressed his gratitude for the UK’s “honest and transparent judicial process” and contrasted it with the Maduro government’s focus on “power and money”.

“This decision represents another step in the process of protecting Venezuela’s international gold reserves and preserving them for the Venezuelan people and their future,” he said.

The final direction of the case has yet to be decided after the UK Supreme Court ruled last year that the dispute should be heard again at the Lower Commercial Court in London.

Cockerill’s ruling put the 31 tons of Venezuelan gold on deposit at the Bank of England at around $1.95 billion. Maduro wants to get the gold back.

However, access has so far been denied as Britain, in line with other countries including the United States, recognizes Guaido as interim president.

British judges have already ruled that they are obliged to follow the British government’s decision on which government to recognize but had left open the legal issue decided on Friday.

Further hearings are expected later this year before the case as a whole can be decided.

The United States and Venezuela severed diplomatic ties in 2019 after Maduro was re-elected to a second term in an election boycotted by the opposition the year before.

In a cautious sign of a possible warming of relations, however, Washington sent a high-level delegation to energy-rich Venezuela in March, just days after Russia invaded Ukraine.