Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro wins latest round in billion-dollar gold battle

The court reversed a July decision made by a lower court, which ruled against the cash-strapped Maduro government and said opposition leader Juan Guaidó should have control of the gold because he had been "unequivocally recognized" as president of Venezuela by the British government.

Appeals Judge Stephen Males Monday disagreed with that assessment, calling the UK government's recognition "ambiguous" and "less than unequivocal."

The two men have been battling for control of the presidency since 2018, when Maduro secured another six-year term in elections widely viewed as a sham.

When declaring that it recognized Guaidó and not Maduro as the lawful president, the UK foreign office might have said London "did not recognize Mr. Maduro in any capacity, but it did not," Justice Males explained. "Accordingly the statement leaves open the possibility that HMG (Her Majesty's Government) continues to recognize Mr. Maduro as president de facto."

Justice Males added that if that were to be the case, Guaidó's claim would be "null and void."

Despite saying the Maduro government's claim was worthy of consideration, the judge said he could not make a final decision and requested that the UK foreign office (FCO) clarify whether or not, in spite of recognizing Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela, it also acknowledged that Maduro is the one who does in fact exercise power in the country.

"These questions are best determined by posing a further question or questions to the FCO," he said. "I would remit the matter to the Commercial Court for this purpose."

The lawyer representing the Maduro government, Sarosh Zaiwalla, said he was "delighted" with the decision by the court.

"The lower court judgment had led to a completely unrealistic situation in which the president of the BCV (Central Bank of Venezuela) and its board, who are in full control of the BCV's offices, mint and day-to-day operations of the central bank in Caracas, were being told that they could no longer deal with very substantial central bank deposits in London," he said.

"This cannot have been a correct outcome, and I am delighted that the Court of Appeal has now overturned that finding and directed that this important matter now receives further consideration."

CNN reached out to Guaidó's legal team but has yet to hear back.

Venezuela's central bank, which is still controlled by Maduro's government, had sued the Bank of England, seeking access to €930 million ($1 billion) in gold reserves that it said would help the country cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Venezuela intended to liquidate the gold to purchase health care supplies and food through the United Nations Development Programme, according to court documents.

But the UK government, along with the US government and dozens more worldwide, recognizes Guaidó, rather than Maduro, as Venezuela's legitimate leader.