The Bank of England (BoE) has denied a request by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s officials to pull $1.2 billion worth of gold out of the bank, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
The Bank of England’s decision to deny Maduro officials’ withdrawal request came after Washington’s move to recognize Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido as president of the country.
President of Venezuela’s central bank Calixto Ortega, met with Bank of England officials in December to discuss repatriating the gold but was unable to convince them.
Venezuela’s foreign reserves total $8 billion held by the Venezuelan central bank, $1.2 billion of which is stored with the Bank of England.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday that Britain supports Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido as head of the National Assembly, adding that a 2018 presidential poll was neither free nor fair.
Maduro slammed Washington’s decision to recognize Guaido, saying his country was cutting off diplomatic relations with the U.S. and giving American diplomats three days to leave the country.
The U.S. immediately responded by refusing to heed Maduro’s demand but later called back all non-essential personnel from Venezuela.