Holding Venezuelan Gold in the Bank of England is a Robbery

On Wednesday, President Nicolas Maduro called the retention of Venezuelan gold deposited in vaults at the Bank of England an act of piracy and theft.

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“The gold inside the Bank of England's vaults belongs to the Central Bank of Venezuela,” Maduro said, adding that his administration will continue to protest against abuses, sanctions, and the seizure of Venezuelan assets abroad.

“The world must know that there is no legal certainty in London or in the Bank of England because any country can have its international reserves stolen at any time. There is no respect for the Law!”, he stressed.

“We are going to continue fighting. We are not standing idly by. We will continue protesting to recover the country's assets,” the Bolivarian leader promised.

On July 29, the London High Court ruled in favor of the Central Bank's Board of Directors illegally appointed by U.S.-backed opposition politician Juan Guaido, who declared himself president of Venezuela in 2019.

Judge Sara Cockerill's decision prevents the Venezuelan State from accessing 32 tons of gold that have been held in the Bank of England since 2018. In justifying her ruling, she ignored the resolutions of the Venezuelan Supreme Court, which declared the appointment of a "parallel board of directors" as an act lacking any basis in the Venezuelan constitution and laws.

The British judge did not decide to grant Guaido's board of directors immediate access to gold reserves valued at over US$1 billion. This possibility must be determined in another hearing.