Al-Aswad calls on “CBL” not to use Libya’s assets frozen abroad

Omar Al-Aswad, one of the two boycotting members of the Presidency Council (PC), sent a letter to international and local entities which stated that all decisions issued by the Presidency Council are considered null and void and without any effect until its endorsement by the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) as per the Libyan Political Agreement.

Al-Aswad also said that the Central Bank of Libya should not be allowed to use the Libyan assets frozen abroad or the assets of the Libya’s $67 billion sovereign wealth fund, saying the Head of the the Tripoli-based Libyan Audit Bureau must bear the responsibility for preventing such a squandering of the Libya’s money and wealth

“We shouldn’t allow a government that is not legitimate and has not been approved by the HoR to use the Libyan money without having an approved budget for the state of Libya.” Al-Aswad added.

He also called on the Libyan Investment Fund and the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) as well as other economic bodies in Libya to assume responsibility in protecting the Libyan assets and disallowing anyone from using the to their benefit, pointing out that those who use the money illegally must be brought to justice.

Before the 2011 revolution, Libya had overseas financial assets worth over $150 billion, and one of the largest sovereign investment funds, the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), which held shares in many well-known multinationals such as BP, GE, ENI, Siemens, and Vodafone. It also had a very large foreign workforce, including Indian workers and professionals.

In the five years since after Gaddafi’s fall, Libya has gone through several political, economic, and military convulsions. The present position is that there are three “governments” in the country.