Maduro rejects UK court ruling over gold battle

Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro denounced on Wednesday the UK court ruling in favour of opposition leader Juan Guaido over a cache of gold bullion held in the Bank of England.

In speech Maduro expressed his outrage and referred to the ruling as an act of "piracy".

"It is shameless and outrageous for the entire Venezuelan community; it is an operation of kidnapping and looting of Venezuelan gold deposited in the vaults of the Bank of England by the Venezuelan central bank," Maduro said.

On Friday, a judge at the High Court in London ruled that British courts do not need to recognize judgments by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela, Venezuela's top constitutional court, that said the gold should go to Maduro.

The ruling is part of a long-running wrangle over assets of Venezuela's central bank.

Two rival boards of Banco Central de Venezuela – one appointed by Maduro and another by Guaidó – are battling to secure the release of more than 800 million pounds ($1 billion) of gold in the vaults of the Bank of England.

The British government recognizes Guaidó as Venezuela's president, and the Bank of England has refused to hand the gold over to Maduro.