Venezuela's $4 Billion Gold May Leave London Vaults for the New York Fed After Years Locked
Venezuela's acting government and an opposition faction are nearing a deal to move about 31 metric tons of gold, worth roughly $4 billion, from the Bank of England to the New York Fed. The bars have not left London.
Venezuela is close to moving about $4 billion in gold out of London vaults and into New York, where the United States would control access to the bars.
Seven people familiar with the talks told Reuters the acting government and a faction of the opposition are nearing a deal. The gold has not left the Bank of England. No UK court has released it. Nobody has sold the bullion.
About 31 metric tons of Venezuelan gold have sat in London for years. Under the proposed deal the bars would move to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Some of those sources said the US Treasury would administer the holdings instead.
Talks in Caracas pair the acting government headed by Delcy Rodriguez with members of the 2015 opposition-led legislature. The agenda includes remaking the political system, oil deals, a major debt restructuring, and reconstruction after June's twin earthquakes.
Proposed terms would give the Rodriguez government legal control without an immediate right to sell. The bullion could be used as collateral for government borrowing, including quake reconstruction. The opposition wants a transparency protocol, US oversight, and project-by-project approval.
The Bank of England withheld the gold after the UK refused to recognize Nicolas Maduro and backed Juan Guaido in 2019. Maduro was ousted in a January 2026 US raid on Caracas and faces drug trafficking charges in New York. Rodriguez is the acting president. Those are not the same person and not the same legal claim.
Opposition-linked lawyers for a parallel central bank board have withdrawn from the UK court case. The Bank of England says it cannot act until a further UK court order names who has legal authority over the account. The UK Foreign Office says it is not a party, and that UK courts and the Bank of England are independent of government.
The deal is nearing, not finalized. The gold has not left London.
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