Gold ingots being piled on a table. Photo: Getty Images.
The trial regarding the fate of the Venezuelan gold seized in the United Kingdom (UK) will resume between July 13 and 18, at the High Court of London.
According to the British lawyer for the Venezuelan government, Richard Lissack, this new trial will determine the validity of the appointments of the board named by former deputy Juan Guaidó.
This is due to the fact that the Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) invalidated the appointment of Guaidó’s board, to which the UK responded by ordering an investigation over whether or not this decision should be accepted. If the appointments are found not to be valid, Lissack stressed that the issue would end there.
Some weeks ago, Judge Sarah Cockerill limited the right to speak to the president of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), Calixto Ortega Sánchez, who was testifying in favor of the recovery of the more than 30 tons of Venezuelan gold illegally seized by UK authorities on the grounds of the incredulous argument that former deputy Juan Guaidó is the president of Venezuela.
“I will limit the testimonial evidence to matters that are relevant, to the invalidation of the appointments by the TSJ, avoiding issues that complicate the procedure,“ said the UK judge.
With this order, Ortega will be able to refer to a 2019 statement on the daily operation of the BCV, in terms of currency issuance or monetary policy. However, he may not refer to the experience, qualifications or intentions of the Guaidó board, or of their management of the country’s international reserves.
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Another lawyer for the Venezuelan government’s defense team, Jonathan Miller, added that if they are granted authority in a general sense, the question arises as to what they have the right to do.
In this regard, he pointed out that they want to prevent the assets from being transferred to their personal accounts such as to a bank in the United States.
In this circus of a judicial procedure, UK authorities are showing how there is no division of power in the former colonial empire of the UK, now a junior partner of the United States. The Bank of England argues that Nicolás Maduro is not the president of Venezuela and that instead former deputy Guaidó is the legitimate president, disregarding the fact that the UK has diplomatic, consular and trade relations with Venezuela and has diplomats appointed to the government of Nicolás Maduro.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/KW
