(London) The British Supreme Court gave a partial victory to Venezuelan opponent Juan Guaidó on Monday against President Nicolas Maduro, referring the dispute over Venezuelan gold stored at the Bank of England to the Commercial Court, including the two camps compete for control.
By upholding Mr. Guaidó’s appeal, the British authority is therefore removing President Nicolas Maduro from some 31 tonnes of gold, representing around $ 1 billion, to which he is asking to have access.
“The dictatorship will not be able to plunder” the gold “as it did with public funds […] Gold from Venezuelan reserves will continue to be protected at the Bank of England, ”Mr. Guaidó responded on Twitter.
The Venezuelan government, meanwhile, has rejected what it sees as a “puzzling” statement and “abusive action”.
This “decision violates the norms of public international law, Venezuelan constitutional order and British law, and also poses serious risks to the investments that the international community has entrusted to the British financial system, as the United Kingdom resorts to fraud to illegally seize the resources entrusted to it, ”reacted the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry in a press release.
Self-proclaimed head of state in 2019 with the support of Washington, Mr. Guaidó is considered as interim president by some fifty countries, including the United Kingdom, which do not recognize the re-election of Nicolas Maduro in 2018.
After ruling that the British courts could not contradict the executive, “it remains to be seen whether the judgments issued by the Supreme Court of Venezuela can be recognized here. The case is referred to the Commercial Court, ”said the highest British legal body in a press release presenting its decision.
But the Supreme Court insists: “British courts will refuse to recognize any judgment of a foreign jurisdiction, like those of the Supreme Court of Venezuela, if they are in conflict with our national policy”, which therefore includes recognizing Mr. Guaidó as president.
The two camps have notably created different executive committees of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), both of which claim access to the gold stored in the heart of London, in the coffers of the Bank of England (BoE).
Mr. Maduro’s camp turned to British justice in 2020. At first, Mr. Guaidó’s Central Bank of Venezuela was recognized as legitimate, before the Court of Appeal overturned this judgment.
She then considered that, since London keeps the channels open with Caracas, in particular by maintaining its embassy there, Mr. Maduro was “de facto” recognized as president of Venezuela. A position overturned Monday by the Supreme Court after an appeal by Mr. Guaidó
According to Mr. Maduro’s defense, the sale of gold to the Venezuelan government would in particular help finance the fight against COVID-19.
According to official figures, Venezuela, a country of 30 million people, has recorded 440,000 cases for more than 5,000 deaths. NGOs and the opposition accuse the power of downplaying the statistics.
Mr. Guaidó’s camp claims for its part that the money collected would serve to repress the people or end up in the pockets of a “kleptocratic” regime.
Opposition in difficulty
“We look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate that the Venezuelan court rulings on which Mr. Maduro’s camp relies do not deserve to be upheld by a British court, as they are not issued by an independent judicial system. “Said Jane Wessel, lawyer at Arnold & Porter, which represents Mr. Guaidó’s interests.
“To recognize Mr. Guaidó as president is an insult to the reality on the ground,” denounces Sarosh Zaiwalla, lawyer for the Zaiwalla cabinet, who defends President Maduro’s camp.
“It has been 19 months since this file continues”, he adds, affirming that “the assets in the United Kingdom remain inaccessible and unusable to fight against the pandemic of COVID-19 in Venezuela”.
In Venezuela, the Guaidó camp is in difficulty: an opposition heavyweight called in early December for the end of the opposition government, criticizing in particular Mr. Guaidó’s control of Venezuelan assets in the United States.
And President Maduro’s party won 19 of the 23 states at stake in regional elections at the end of November, a poll criticized by the European Union’s observation mission.