Central Bank of Venezuela v The Governor and Company of the Bank of England
Zaiwalla & Co have been instructed by the Central Bank of Venezuela to issue a claim against the Bank of England (BOE) for the release of US $1 billion of Venezuela’s gold reserves to help the country combat COVID-19.
The United Nations has identified Venezuela as a priority country in the global fight against COVID-19, since it has a fragile healthcare system. The Country is suffering from crippling poverty, exacerbated by heavy sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the United States in 2019 and the dramatic fall in world oil prices, the nation’s leading export commodity.
BCV wrote to the BOE in April 2020 requiring US $1 billion of its gold reserves to be transferred directly to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) working to alleviate the spread of COVID-19. The BOE refused instructions on the basis that it does not recognise the authority of BCV and the current Venezuelan Government.
The English Commercial Court will today hear BCV’s application to order an expedited trial of the claim on humanitarian grounds. This case is being led by Partners Sarosh Zaiwalla, Leigh Crestohl and Kartik Mittal.
Leigh Crestohl comments “It is clearly wrong that the Bank of England should deny the people of Venezuela access to their nation’s foreign gold reserves at a time when it is so desperately needed to fund efforts to avert a humanitarian crisis occasioned by the spread of COVID-19. This is an important case that will test the ability of the British legal system to deliver a just and swift outcome that gives precedence to the very real humanitarian concerns that this case presents”.
