President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido began a legal battle to own the $ 1 billion worth of gold reserves in the UK.

During a hearing at the London Court of Appeals on June 22 and scheduled to last four days, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BVC), controlled by President Nicolas Maduro's administration, asked the Bank of England (

The SR's lawyer said Venezuela wanted to sell gold equivalent to 15% of its foreign reserves to deal with Covid-19 and improve the health system after 6 years affected by the economic crisis.

Meanwhile, Juan Guaido's lawyer group argued that the opposition leader was the one who took control of the gold, because Britain and about 60 other countries recognized Guaido as Venezuela's leader.

BCV representative Nick Vineall QC argued that although the British government in February 2019 recognized Guaido as interim president, many subsequent diplomatic activities showed that Britain still considered Maduro to be Venezuela's leader.

He cited many economic sanctions that mention President Maduro and the embassy staff he controls still receive letters of Queen Elizabeth II's birthday in June last year.

In its latest statement, the SR said that the proceeds from the sale of the gold would be sent to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) budget and used to buy drugs and medical supplies against

The opposition has accused Maduro of using the gold to pay foreign allies, though the Venezuelan president's lawyer has firmly denied it.

BoE has not commented on this legal battle.