Daily Management Review

Venezuela teams up with UN program to send part of its gold reserve to fight COVID-19


05/28/2020


Venezuela has entered into an agreement with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to channel some of the republic’s gold reserves held by the Bank of England to supply food and medicine necessary to fight the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported with reference to Head of the Central Bank of Venezuela Calixto Ortega.



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According to the agreement, UNDP will receive funds directly, which will avoid possible allegations of corruption. Ortega expressed confidence in the transparency of actions and impartiality of the UN.

The Bank of England did not comment on this agreement.

According to the latest data, only 1245 cases of COVID-19 infection were detected in Venezuela, 11 people died. However, according to Reuters, hospitals in the country are in extremely poor condition amid the difficult economic situation in the country.

Last week it was reported that the Central Bank of Venezuela filed a lawsuit with the London court against the Bank of England in order to secure the return of the gold bars worth €930 million needed by the authorities to fight the novel coronavirus. In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Ortega expressed confidence that the lawsuit in the UK would be resolved soon. 

source: reuters.com