Millions missing from Gaddafi’s supposedly frozen assets in Belgium
Following a 2011 UN decision, all foreign accounts belonging to Gaddafi’s government were frozen, but according to an investigation carried out by RTBF Belgian news network, about 3-4 billion euros of interest payments on Gaddafi’s assets have been legally transferred from his Belgian bank (Euroclear Bank) accounts to Libyan authorities, and could have been directed to illegal armed groups to fuel Libya’s civil war for the past seven years. The UN and Belgian authorities are conducting parallel investigations into this matter, and as Belgian government is required to provide clarifications to avoid a scandal, Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister stated: “This decision to unblock funds is the responsibility of the Finance Ministry. I have not headed it since December 2011, and have not made any decisions on this matter”.
- The Euromed news are edited by the team of the Euro-Mediterranean Policies Department of the European Institute of the Mediterranean -