The United Kingdom has indicated that more than a billion dollars’ worth of Venezuelan gold will remain stored in Bank of England vaults, even following Nicolás Maduro’s arrest and the appointment of Delcy Rodríguez as interim leader, according to [source].
Addressing Parliament on January 5, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper noted that because the UK does not recognize the current Venezuelan administration, the gold is unlikely to be released.
“It is crucial that we maintain pressure to achieve a transition to democracy that respects the will of the Venezuelan people,” Cooper stated.
“While the Bank of England makes independent decisions, our approach is guided by principles of upholding stability and pursuing a democratic transition,” she added in her remarks.
The gold—part of Venezuela’s central bank reserves—has been frozen since 2020 amid competing claims over who holds legal authority to access it.
“So the gold stays where it is,” Rhona O’Connell, head of market analysis for EMEA and Asia at [source], told [source] Digital.
“This impacts the gold frozen at the Bank of England, which Maduro has been seeking to have released,” she said.
O’Connell claimed Venezuela sold large quantities of gold between 2012 and 2016 as its economic crisis deepened.
“The last major batch appears to have been 85 metric tons in the first half of 2016, with smaller sales afterward,” she noted, adding that Venezuela last officially reported its reserves to the International Monetary Fund in mid-2018.
“World Gold Council figures suggest net sales of 179 metric tons since 2022,” O’Connell stated.
In 2020, Maduro initiated legal proceedings against the Bank of England, leading to competing claims over who could represent Venezuela’s central bank (Banco Central de Venezuela)—which owns the gold but has been under U.S. sanctions since April 2019.
The UK High Court initially ruled in the Bank of England’s favor, but that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal, with the [blank] ultimately ruling to recognize [blank] as president.
The Supreme Court estimated the gold’s value in 2020 at approximately $1.95 billion.
This means the gold remains frozen under UK jurisdiction, consistent with the British government’s recognition policy, per [source].
“This follows the One Voice doctrine—a UK legal rule stating that when the government refuses to recognize another head of state, courts must do the same,” O’Connell explained.
Meanwhile, Swiss authorities have frozen assets linked to Maduro and dozens of his associates after his arrest by U.S. forces, though they have not disclosed the total value of those assets, according to [source].
Between those years, Venezuela exported about 113 metric tons of gold (worth roughly $5.2 billion) to Switzerland, as reported by [source] citing Swiss customs data.
[source] Digital has reached out to the Bank of England and the UK Foreign Office for comment.