The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) announced the suspension of all bank operations, departments and systems due to the “kidnapping” of the bank’s IT Director, Musab Emsallam.
The CBL said in a brief statement that an unknown party abducted Emsallam from in front of his house on Sunday morning, indicating that some other officials were threatened with kidnapping. It confirmed that it would not resume work until the release of IT Director.
The CBL added that it rejected such “demagogic methods” practiced by some parties outside the strengths of the law, which would threaten the safety of its employees and the continuation of the banking sector’s duties.
US Unwavering Support for Al-Kabir
Richard Norland, the US special envoy to Libya, said last week that attempts to replace the bank’s senior management by force could result in the North African country losing access to international financial markets.
Norland met with the CBL’s governor Al-Kabir to discuss concerns about armed groups gathering around the bank’s headquarters in Tripoli, the US embassy said.
“Disputes over distribution of Libya’s wealth must be settled through transparent, inclusive negotiations toward a unified, consensus-based budget,” Norland said.
HoR is Cozying up to Al-Kabir
The House of Representatives (HoR) condemned Saturday what it called attempts to seize control of the Central Bank of Libya in the past two days, describing them as “absurd” and “threatening to the wealth of the Libyan people”.
The statement indicated that “attempts to control the CBL began with incitement to storm its headquarters, then an attempt to find a justification to remove the governor of the Central Bank by force as well as threats under the pretext that the HoR had previously taken a decision to appoint a new governor”.
The House of Representatives called on the Attorney General to take action against such acts and take all legal measures necessary to protect the Central Bank of Libya.
