Following the recent, unprecedented arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás maduro and his wife, cilia Flores, the geopolitical stakes surrounding the nation’s vast natural resources have intensified. The Biden administration has signaled its priority is securing access to Venezuela’s oil reserves, but a separate, complex financial and legal battle continues over 31 tons of gold held at the Bank of England-gold now valued at approximately $4.4 billion. This report examines the stalled legal proceedings and shifting political landscape that determine who ultimately controls this valuable asset, and whether it will fall under the control of the newly appointed interim government or remain secured amidst ongoing legitimacy disputes.
Fuente de la imagen, Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Tiempo de lectura: 8 min
Following an unprecedented military operation in Venezuela on January 3, which resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, U.S. President Donald Trump has made clear that securing the South American nation’s vast oil reserves is a primary concern.
“What we need from the interim authorities is total access. Total access to the oil,” the Republican president stated Sunday to reporters accompanying him on his return to Washington from his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
However, Trump acknowledged that his interests extend beyond crude oil, stating, “We also want other things in the country that will allow us to rebuild it.” Venezuela’s subsurface also holds significant deposits of iron, coal, bauxite, copper, coltan, diamonds, and gold.
Approximately 31 tons of this precious metal, part of the Central Bank of Venezuela’s (BCV) international reserves, are held at the Bank of England and have been the subject of a legal battle between the Maduro government and the Venezuelan opposition for over five years.
The recent events in Caracas have raised questions about whether the newly appointed executive, now led by Delcy Rodríguez, will be able to access these gold reserves, which were valued at US$1.950 billion in 2020 and are now worth approximately US$4.4 billion due to the more than doubling of gold prices in recent years. So far, there are no indications that this will be the case.
“The case is still in the English courts. It has not yet been resolved by the judges, therefore the gold remains at the Bank of England,” said Sarosh Zaiwalla, founder of the London law firm representing the BCV and the Venezuelan government, the owner of the gold bars, in the proceedings in the British courts.
Venezuelan constitutionalist José Ignacio Hernández echoed this sentiment. He previously led opposition efforts to prevent the Maduro administration from gaining control of the precious metal.
“The situation is basically the same (…) the gold remains, and will continue to be, safeguarded at the Bank of England,” Hernández told BBC Mundo, adding that he is a specialist and consultant for Aurora Macro Strategies.
Fuente de la imagen, Matthew Chattle/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Questions of Ownership
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The dispute over the gold dates back to 2018, when Venezuelan authorities first attempted to withdraw the 31 tons of metal to sell it and alleviate a severe cash flow crisis plaguing the country’s public accounts in recent years. This crisis has been fueled by declining oil production and international sanctions imposed by Washington during Trump’s first term.
However, the Bank of England refused to release the gold. The reason? Doubts about the legitimacy of Venezuelan authorities, which began with Maduro’s reelection in the May 2018 presidential election, the transparency and legality of which were questioned by more than 50 countries, including the United Kingdom.
In January 2019, the opposition, which at the time controlled the National Assembly (unicameral Parliament), did not recognize the elections and considered the presidency vacant.
The opposition then invoked the second paragraph of Article 233 of the Constitution, which states: “When the absolute absence of the elected president occurs before taking office, a new universal, direct and secret election will be held within thirty consecutive days. While the new president is elected and takes office, the President of the National Assembly will be in charge of the Presidency of the Republic.”
Fuente de la imagen, AFP via Getty Images
Opposition lawmaker Juan Guaidó then swore himself in as interim president and was recognized by numerous foreign governments, including the British, as Venezuela’s leader.
With the support of the National Assembly, Guaidó began appointing a parallel set of authorities, including a new board of directors for the BCV. The so-called ad hoc BCV objected to the delivery of the gold to officials of the Maduro administration, and the legal battle in the United Kingdom began.
“For more than five years, we have been fighting in the courts over the absurd situation of the British government not recognizing who actually governs Venezuela,” Zaiwalla stated.
Fuente de la imagen, AFP via Getty Images
A Stalled Legal Case
In 2022, Vice President Rodríguez described the situation with the BCV’s reserves as “piracy.”
“They are trying to steal the gold of the Venezuelans,” she denounced.
Over the past five years, various courts have heard the case, including the UK Supreme Court, and have issued rulings in favor of and against both sides, but none have been definitive.
Since 2023, the case has been before the Commercial Court of London, the court responsible for handling “complex and high-value national and international commercial disputes,” according to its website.
However, “there has been no activity from the parties” since then, the court admitted in writing to BBC Mundo.
Why the standstill? “The Maduro government has not paid the costs imposed on it in one of the previous decisions,” explained a source familiar with the matter to BBC Mundo.
Lawyers for the BCV in London dismissed the possibility that Maduro’s departure or Trump’s statements would harm their case.
“After 40 years of experience, I can say that British judges are independent and that they make their decisions based on the law and will not be influenced,” Zaiwalla assured.
Fuente de la imagen, Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
London Maintains Its Rejection
A judicial ruling clarifying who is the legitimate authority in Venezuela is essential to unlock the funds, sources at the Bank of England explained.
“Before taking any action (regarding the gold), it would be necessary to (re)establish the authority over the account (where the Venezuelan gold is deposited). This is the issue that remains in dispute,” they said.
In the absence of a judicial decision, a statement from the British government recognizing the Venezuelan government could help resolve the dispute, but this appears unlikely.
“The Maduro government was not recognized by the United Kingdom and there is nothing to indicate that it will now recognize the government of Delcy Rodríguez, so the chances of Venezuela taking control of that gold are even lower, because the risks of misrepresentation are greater,” Hernández said.
The facts support the expert’s assessment, as British officials have not officially endorsed the change in leadership in Venezuela, despite Washington’s unofficial approval.
“Since 2019, successive British governments have refused to recognize the Maduro regime,” British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stated this week during an intervention in the House of Commons.
“This remains our position,” she added, urging Rodríguez to take steps towards a democratic transition because “the Venezuelan people have the right to decide their own future.”
Although London does not officially recognize the authorities in Caracas, it maintains its embassy in the South American country.
Regarding the possibility of the Venezuelan gold ending up in Washington’s hands, lawyers for the BCV said: “In the hypothetical case that the interim authorities decide to collaborate with the U.S. and decide to transfer the funds, they must first satisfy the claims of compliance from the Bank of England.”
Fuente de la imagen, Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Chávez Predicted It?
Like other countries, Venezuela has held deposits of its gold reserves at the Bank of England and other similar institutions around the world for decades.
The European institution holds 400,000 gold bars in its underground vaults, making it the second largest custodian of the precious metal in the world, second only to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (U.S.), according to its website.
However, in 2011, the late President Hugo Chávez ordered the repatriation of all of the BCV’s gold held abroad, estimated at around 160 tons and valued at the time at US$11 billion.
“The gold is returning to where it should always have been: the vaults of the BCV,” he said upon receiving the first bars.
While Chávez justified his decision as an act of sovereignty aimed at protecting “the economic reserve of our children,” his detractors argued that he feared that these assets could one day be frozen, as happened to his friend and ally, the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Despite the leader’s order, approximately 31 tons of metal remained in London.
Hernández praised the failure to comply with the former ruler’s instructions.
“The gold at the Bank of England is one of the few assets abroad that are well protected,” he said, noting that Swiss authorities recently revealed that the Venezuelan government sent about US$5.2 billion in gold to the Alpine country between 2013 and 2016.
