“They have embezzled gold, breaking all rules of international trade, investment and investors (…). The Venezuelan government has placed its trust in the gold trust of all Venezuelans in the Bank of England and today, for political reasons, intends to plunder the Venezuelan people.”
Delcy Rodriguez, also Minister of Economy and Finance, spoke during the opening session of the 77th Annual Assembly of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Venezuela (Fedecâmaras), which she attended as a special guest.
During his speech, Delcy Rodriguez accused the parliament elected in 2015, dominated by the opposition allied to Juan Guaido, of ceding sovereignty for five years and inappropriately appropriating the heritage of Venezuelans.
“Because of this extradition, Venezuela is today engaged in a historic battle for the gold that all Venezuelans have in England,” he said.
And the government official asked, “Who can be confident in depositing gold (…) in the Bank of England, if it could happen tomorrow for any ambassador not to recognize a government, in order to preserve the resources of the state.”
Delsey Rodriguez also confirmed that there are more than 6000 million dollars reserved in European and American banks.
On July 19, the British government attempted to prevent Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from accessing nearly €1.650 billion of gold deposited in the Bank of England, a case the UK’s Supreme Court has begun to consider.
The CEO told the court that recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as president is clear and long-standing, and that he is thus the person empowered to decide how to use the gold held by the Bank of England.
The statement came after a lower court said the UK’s recognition of Guaido as Venezuela’s leader was “vague”.
“The UK government has the right to decide who should be recognized as the legitimate head of a foreign country,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
The Executive added that it recognizes Juan Guaido as President of Venezuela, and for this reason, he is the only recognized person with the authority to act on behalf of Venezuela as Head of State.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro requested access to gold reserves to help the country, which is currently in a severe financial crisis, in fighting the Covid-19 epidemic, but the Bank of England refused to hand it over, citing London’s recognition of Guaido. .
Guaido has sought to keep the Bank of England’s $1,950 million (about €1,650 million) gold reserve in the Bank of England to keep it out of the hands of Maduro, who accuses him of being an illegitimate leader. It is corrupt. .
The leader of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Guaido, has challenged Maduro’s claim to the presidency, arguing that the 2018 elections were fraudulent and invalid, and garnered support from a large part of the international community, including the United Kingdom.
Guaido claims to be the country’s interim president, under the provisions of the national constitution, which allow the head of the legislature to take power so that free elections can be held.
The battle for gold is taking place between two departments of the Central Bank of Venezuela, one appointed by Maduro and the other by Guaido.
Maduro’s lawyers argue that he is still Venezuela’s president and that the United Kingdom recognized him by maintaining diplomatic relations with the current regime.
FPG (BM) // PTA
Lusa / end
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