Venezuela’s gold reserves closed 2022 at a total of 68.5 tons, according to notes to the financial statements published by the Central Bank of Venezuela. This figure represents a decrease of 10 tons compared to the end of 2021.
The BCV reported that its monetary gold is valued at $3,9 billion, based on an average price of $1,775.02 per troy ounce. This amount is 10% lower ($419.7 million) than the previous semester.
Since 2014, the Maduro government has been making intensive use of this reserve asset, to the point that since he took office, he has accumulated a decrease of 312.6 tons, which means that he has liquidated 82% of what he had when he assumed the presidency in 2013.
The BCV details that the monetary gold reserve is constituted “by the existence of coined gold and gold bars deposited in its vaults and in first-class foreign financial institutions, according to internationally recognized risk criteria.”
In 2011, the late President Hugo Chavez repatriated part of the gold that Venezuela had deposited abroad, which has allowed his successor to negotiate freely with this asset, using it as a means of payment, for example, in transactions with Iran, as reported by an Iranian official in 2020.
Another part of the gold is held, for example, in the Bank of England. There is a legal dispute over the use of these assets. British authorities have said they do not recognize the Maduro government, but it remains to be seen whether its management can be placed in the hands of the interim government of Juan Guaidó or the National Assembly elected in 2015.
With the decrease during 2022, the amount of monetary gold in Venezuela’s reserves is at its lowest level in the last 70 years, according to historical figures that can be traced through the International Monetary Fund.
The BCV does not detail the reasons for the decrease in its monetary gold holdings, but in the past, the Maduro government has used this reserve asset for swaps (financial transactions that it cannot carry out due to sanctions) and also as a means of payment to allies such as Iran.