Finance & Currencies
Venezuela asks King Charles to release 30 tons of gold
Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez said on July 8 that she had asked King Charles III to release about 30 tons of Venezuelan gold held at the Bank of England and frozen under UK sanctions so it could be used for earthquake reconstruction.
“I decided to send a letter to the King of England to have the gold held at the Bank of England released,” Rodriguez said on state television. “This gold belongs to our people. We need this gold to deal with the consequences of the earthquake.”
Venezuela's government and opposition had also said in a joint statement that they would work on accessing frozen funds at the Bank of England.
Last month's twin quakes in Venezuela have killed at least 3,800 people, flattened scores of residential buildings and left thousands more homeless or missing.
Update
Delcy Rodriguez said she had asked King Charles III to release about 30 tons of Venezuelan gold held at the Bank of England.
Rodriguez said the gold was needed to respond to the consequences of last month's twin earthquakes.
The gold is described as frozen under UK sanctions.
The quakes have killed at least 3,800 people and left thousands more homeless or missing.
Source note: AFP news report published on 9 July 2026 at 00:38:23 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The supplied information does not state whether King Charles III or UK authorities responded to the request.
The number of people missing and homeless is given only as thousands, without a more specific breakdown.
Source
AFP news report published on .