* Venezuela’s central bank (BCV) has reported that a deal has been struck with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to allow the international organisation to use Venezuelan government assets, frozen in a Bank of England (BoE) account, to respond to Venezuela’s
ongoing humanitarian crisis. The BCV had filed a legal complaint against the BoE on 14 May regarding the 31 tonnes of gold (worth over US$1bn) held on behalf of the
Nicolás Maduro government, the legitimacy of which is rejected by the British government. BCV president
Calixto Ortega voiced optimism that this deal, under which the UNDP would oversee the purchase of food and medicine, could provide a solution; he said, “
it’s not my word, […] it’s the UN who is saying that, they are not going to be involved in anything shady, that isn’t neutral and independent”. The UNDP has not yet confirmed the deal, but in an earlier statement it said that it was working “
to explore mechanisms to use existing resources held by the BCV in financial institutions outside the country to fund the ongoing efforts to address urgent humanitarian, health, and socio-economic needs”.
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