Venezuela Edges Closer to Reclaiming $4 Billion Gold Reserve from Bank of England

Venezuela is close to an agreement with its political rivals over $4 billion in central-bank gold held at the Bank of England. The proposed deal would place the reserves under the control of acting President Delcy Rodríguez's interim government and potentially move them to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The UK court must determine which Venezuelan authority can lawfully instruct the Bank of England, a legal obstacle that has stalled the transaction. Reuters reported that the bank is waiting for a further UK court order identifying which authority controls the account before transferring the gold.

The dispute began when rival boards of Venezuela's central bank sent conflicting instructions over reserves held in the Bank of England's vaults and money held by court-appointed receivers. The UK Supreme Court's case record describes nearly $1 billion of reserves in the vaults and approximately $120 million held by receivers.