Gold Reserve sued Venezuela under the World Bank’s dispute settlement system more than eight years ago over the expropriation of its gold mining operations. The company finally agreed to a $1.03bn settlement in September 2016, mostly to be paid in monthly instalments that began last July.

But fourth-quarter financial statements published by Gold Reserve at the end of last week show that the payments ended in November.

It follows an apparent cessation of payments to holders of Venezuela’s sovereign bonds in September last year.

Venezuela’s dispute with Gold Reserve is one of several involving foreign mining companies that invested in the country as the government sought to exploit what are thought to be some of the world’s largest deposits of gold and other metals.

But gold mining has become chaotic as foreign companies have been forced out and illegal miners have taken over, often overseen by the army.