Juan Guaido's legal team argued on Wednesday before the UK Court of Appeals that the self-proclaimed president of Venezuela has the right to claim the Venezuelan gold reserves held in the Bank of England following his recognition by the UK government
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd September, 2020) Juan Guaido's legal team argued on Wednesday before the UK Court of Appeals that the self-proclaimed president of Venezuela has the right to claim the Venezuelan gold reserves held in the Bank of England following his recognition by the UK government.
The legal battle for the gold began after Guaido declared himself an interim president in the wake of public protests in Venezuela back in January 2019. Then, the Bank of England said it will not fulfill the request to give back the gold it stored to Venezuela over the lack of clarity as to who was entitled to receive it.
"What M. Guaido wants from this court is to examine a clear statement of recognition," lawyer Andrew Fulton said during the presentation of his submissions to the London court hearing an appeal filed by the board of the Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) appointed by Venezuela's constitutional President Nicolas Maduro.
The lawyers representing Maduro are appealing a verdict issued by the High Court of England and Wales, which in July ruled against the BCV in a legal dispute with the Bank of England over 31 tonnes of Venezuelan gold deposited in its vaults.
The judge presiding over the case then said that since Guaido had been "unequivocally" recognized by the United Kingdom as the president of Venezuela, following a statement made by then-Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in 2019, the BCV board appointed by him had a right over the gold bullion valued at an estimated $1.2 billion.
Upon presenting the case on Tuesday, Maduro's legal team claimed that the judge issuing the verdict had failed to properly distinguish between "de jure" and "de facto" recognition.
As lawyer Nick Vineall explained, a de jure government is one in which, in the opinion of the person using the phrase, ought to hold the powers, while a de facto government is the one actually in possession of such powers.
Responding to Vineall's claims on Wednesday, Fulton tried to convince the three judges overseeing the appeal that although Maduro is the constitutional head of state of Venezuela, Guaido was received by top UK government officials when he visited London early this year.
Vineall recalled, however, that Maduro's ambassador, Rocio Maneiro, is the official representative of the Venezuelan government in London, while the UK government also keeps its ambassador in Caracas.
"Mr. Guaido has no real powers in Venezuela. It's a paper exercise," Vineall stressed, calling Hunt's recognition of Guaido a "political statement."
According to the BCV legal team, the money resulting from the sale of the gold will be used to buy medical equipment and medicine for the country's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
