British Judge Denies Venezuela Access to Gold in Bank Vault

Mounted police officers sit outside the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England in London, UK, on June 17, 2020. Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images

LONDON—A British judge on Thursday refused to give Venezuela control of over $1 billion in gold sitting in a Bank of England vault, ruling that it is unlawful to give it to President Nicolás Maduro since Britain does not recognize him as president of the Latin American nation.

Maduro has demanded the gold to help his cash-starved nation fight the coronavirus pandemic. But the central bank for the United Kingdom, whose government recognizes Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as his country’s legitimate leader, had refused to hand it over to Maduro’s socialist administration.