Venezuela's $4 Billion Gold Reserves Headed to US Amid Recovery Efforts
The Venezuelan government and opposition are close to reaching an agreement to transfer the country's central bank gold reserves, worth approximately $4 billion, from the Bank of England to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
According to Reuters, the proposed terms would give the interim government led by Delcy Rodríguez legal control over the gold, but it could not be sold immediately. Instead, the reserves could potentially be used as collateral for government borrowing, particularly to finance recovery efforts following the massive earthquakes that struck Venezuela in June.
The 31 metric tons of gold worth about $4 billion have remained frozen due to an ongoing dispute over who has the legal right to dispose of the gold. The Bank of England has not transferred the gold to Venezuela for several years, and the decision was made against the backdrop of a political crisis in Venezuela and disputes over the 2018 presidential election.
The proposed agreement could be one of the first concrete outcomes of the negotiation process between Venezuela's interim government and the opposition, which is supported by the United States. If finalized, it could also put an end to the seven-year legal dispute over the gold reserves.