The Belgian government has allegedly taken €2.7 billion ($3 billion) out of €14 billion ($15.8 billion) of Libyan frozen funds in Belgian banks since 2011, according to an article published on 2 March by Belgian national newspaper De Standard.
The newspaper said the interest of Libyan funds have amounted to €12 billion ($13.6) over the past years.
A UN report revealed in September that a bank in Belgium, reportedly holding more than $20 billion of the frozen funds as part of sanctions against the late Muammar Gaddafi’s inner circle, transferred dividends and interests to accounts controlled by the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), affiliated to the interim government in Benghazi, outside of the country.
UN officials said that was a breach of the global sanctions and “could lead to the misuse and misappropriation of funds” because of ongoing instability in Libya.
Hence, the House of Representatives (HoR) sent in December a committee to Belgium to follow up the case of “disappearing” Libyan frozen assets from a Belgian bank.
HoR member Abdel Salam Nasiah said on Twitter the committee includes Chairman of the financial committee of the Tobruk-based HoR Omar Tantoush, a member of the parliamentary Financial Committee and chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee.
