Benghazi, February 8, 2024 (Al-Anbaa Libyan) – The meeting that brought together the head of the Libyan Investment Corporation, “Ali Mahmoud Hassan,” with the Algerian ambassador to Libya, “Suleiman Shanin,” yesterday, Wednesday, sparked renewed talk about the issue of Libyan funds frozen abroad, where he discussed Meeting the negative effects resulting from the freezing system imposed on the institution’s assets.
With the increasing pressure on the Libyan economy, which translates into the suffering faced by citizens, many are looking to the file of frozen funds abroad, which are exposed to annual losses estimated at huge amounts, in addition to the increase in external greed for these funds, especially in light of the worsening political crises that the country is suffering from.
-Freezing system
The meeting between Hassan and Shanin, as Algeria is one of the member states of the Sanctions Committee concerned with Libya, discussed issues related to the freezing regime imposed on Libyan assets, and possible ways to address these challenges, in addition to presenting a set of measures taken by the institution with the aim of reducing the effects.
-Heavy losses
Although the United Nations and affiliated organizations have established a legal framework to supervise these funds, not allowing any of them to be spent except on specific files, and remaining frozen until an elected government takes power in the country, which can impose permanent stability in the country, millions of these funds have been lost. Dollars as a result of widespread corruption in national institutions, according to international reports.
In November 2023, the Funds Recovery and Recovered Assets Management Office (Larmo) announced that Libyan assets frozen abroad are exposed to heavy losses annually, which may be estimated at more than a billion dollars, calling for the necessity of easing these sanctions and allowing national institutions to manage these funds.
-Successive ambitions
Due to the political crisis that the country is experiencing, greed in the frozen Libyan funds increases, as Prince Laurent of Belgium sought years ago to control part of these funds, under the pretext of inflicting financial losses on the institutions affiliated with him that were operating in Libya.
During the past years, the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee rejected Belgium’s request to unfreeze part of its frozen Libyan funds, to be used to settle “possible debts” owed to Libyan parties, stressing that it “will not allow its assets to be harmed.”
The matter was not limited to Belgium, but the authorities in the Central African country also announced years ago their intention to sell some Libyan property at a public auction, which was rejected by the Libyan authorities at the time, and they were forced to stop the sale and recover the frozen funds in this country located in the heart of the African continent.
-Continuous attempts to recover funds
On January 23, the Chairman of the Investment Corporation met with the Deputy British Ambassador to Libya, Catherine Wade, where they discussed together the steps taken by the Corporation to avoid negative effects on the frozen assets and funds.
-The amount of frozen funds
In previous statements by Dmitry Gershenson, head of the International Monetary Fund in Libya, last June, he confirmed that the volume of frozen assets abroad had reached $70 billion since 2011.
Despite the previous figure, in 2011, Reuters news agency published a report in which it confirmed that Libyan funds abroad were estimated at approximately $200 billion, distributed between investments in foreign companies, balances, deposits, stocks, and bonds.
These funds were frozen by a UN Security Council resolution in March 2011, but these balances decreased according to international reports, reaching $67 billion, according to statements made by the Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, while he was at the helm of power.
Reuters had confirmed that foreign governments had frozen sovereign funds, estimated at approximately $150 billion, from Libya’s funds following the events of 2011. (Libyan News Benghazi) S.H.
You can also read the news in the source from the Libyan News Agency
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2024-05-27 17:18:29