Boats, insurance and a whole lot of cocaine
Of all South American countries, Venezuela is probably the worst one to live in right now. Whatever democracy there was is dying on a daily basis, there are mass protests on the street and food shortages are causing widespread malnourishment amongst the population.
Another aspect of life in Venezuela is the illegal drug trade that is one of the biggest in the world. High risks and high rewards are attractive in a place where there are not many other options.
This week's episode of the podcast demonstrates the risks for the commercial sector when it comes to doing business in Venezuela. As a ship was getting ready to leave port it was discovered that a large amount of cocaine had been strapped to the hull and so the vessel was seized by Venezuelan authorities.
Months passed and the ship was still not released from detention so the owners decided to claim on their insurance. What might have been a straightforward case became more complicated as the Supreme Court had to work out whether the smugglers had been "acting maliciously" within the meaning of the agreement.
Episode link: http://uklawweekly.com/2018-uksc-26/
Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/uk-law-weekly/id1137316725?mt=2