£1.4BN Venezuela gold haul: UK to decide fate of 32-tonne stash of precious metal

£1.4BN Venezuela gold haul: UK to decide fate of 32-tonne stash of precious metal

 

 





The UK will decide who owns a 32-tonne stash of Venezuelan gold that was deposited in the Bank of England.

By ExpressDylan Donnelly

Jul 24, 2021

The Supreme Court handled the dispute between Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó, both of whom claim to be Venezuelan President. After Mr Guaidó declared himself interim President in January 2019, the Bank of England refused to release the stash worth almost $2billion due to a lack of clarity on who runs Venezuela.

On Wednesday, after three days of hearings, the Supreme Court retired to make their decision on who owns the gold.

Lord Robert Reed, president of the Supreme Court, stated it will take time to make a decision on who rightfully owns the gold stash.

He said: “We have been entrusted with a demanding examination job.

“It will take us some time to consider all the arguments and make our ruling.”
A Supreme Court spokeswoman also said: “We do not know when the ruling will be at this stage, but it can often be several months after the hearing is held.”
Mr Maduro, who won the 2018 Venezuelan elections which was disputed by Mr Guaidó, has accused the UK of “stealing” the gold reserves.

Read More: Express – £1.4BN Venezuela gold haul: UK to decide fate of 32-tonne stash of precious metal

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