The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) has denied claims that an international judicial ruling was made against the authority in relation to a dispute with Prince Laurent of Belgium.
The Media Affairs Advisor at LIA, Luai Geriw has clarified in a statement to Libya Alahrar that media reports claiming that the Luxembourg Court of Appeal had ordered the HSBC Bank to confiscate approximately 38 million Euros of LIA funds, were basically untrue. Africa Intelligence, a French-sponsored website, had reported at an earlier time that the Luxembourg Court of Appeal had ruled on June 22 in favor of transferring Libyan funds to the Global Fund for Sustainable Development which is owned by the Belgian Prince.
Geriw stated that the prince and his lawyers are leading what he described as a “desperate media campaign” with the aim of provoking public opinion by spreading misleading disinformation. He stressed that the institution’s funds at HSBC were frozen in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and are unreachable by Prince Laurent.
Previously, LIA had clarified that the dispute with the Belgian royalty goes back to his attempt to gain access to LIA funds for alleged compensation for his organization regarding a prior afforestation contract conducted with the Libyan government, which LIA was not a party of, according to the LIA statement.
Sources: Libya Alahrar + Africa Intelligence
