Venezuela's government and opposition are close to an agreement that could transfer about $4 billion worth of the country's central bank gold reserves from the Bank of England to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to a Financial Times report published Friday.

The proposed arrangement would give the interim government led by Delcy Rodríguez legal control over the gold while preventing it from immediately selling the holdings, according to four people familiar with the negotiations cited by the newspaper. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report.

The negotiations could bring an end to a years long dispute over roughly 31 metric tonnes of Venezuelan gold held in London.

GOLD COULD BE USED TO SECURE LOANS

Under the proposal being discussed, Venezuela could potentially use the gold as collateral to secure government borrowing rather than immediately selling the bullion.

Some of that financing could be directed towards reconstruction following the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela in June.

The arrangement would include safeguards over the use of the assets, reflecting longstanding concerns within Venezuela's opposition about how the country's overseas resources would be managed.

The final details have not yet been agreed and the transfer has not been completed.

YEARS LONG DISPUTE OVER VENEZUELAN GOLD

Venezuela's gold has been at the centre of a lengthy legal and political battle in Britain.

The dispute intensified in 2019 after the United Kingdom and several other governments recognised opposition leader Juan Guaidó rather than Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate interim president.

That created competing claims over who had authority to control the country's overseas assets, including the gold stored at the Bank of England.

The bullion subsequently became the subject of prolonged proceedings in British courts.

The political circumstances surrounding the dispute have since changed significantly, and Rodríguez's interim government and opposition representatives have been engaged in US backed negotiations over the assets.

RODRÍGUEZ PREVIOUSLY SOUGHT RELEASE OF GOLD

Rodríguez had previously asked Britain to release the reserves to help Venezuela finance reconstruction following the earthquakes.

Venezuelan authorities have argued that the assets belong to the country and should be available to address its economic and humanitarian needs.

In August, Venezuela's government and opposition agreed to work together to recover the reserves, providing the foundation for the latest negotiations over transferring the bullion to New York.

AGREEMENT NOT YET FINAL

The proposed transfer remains under negotiation.

Reuters reported that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Bank of England and British Foreign Office had not immediately responded to requests for comment on the latest report. Venezuela's government and opposition also could not immediately be reached.

If completed, the agreement would represent a significant breakthrough in the dispute over one of Venezuela's most valuable overseas assets and could provide Caracas with access to additional financing without immediately liquidating its gold reserves.