ROME, Nov 05, 2012 (AFP)
ROME, Nov 05, 2012 (AFP)
An Italian court on Monday ordered the release of more than one billion euros in Libyan assets frozen since March, media reports said.
The criminal court in Rome ruled that Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) shares in the Finmeccanica aerospace giant and UniCredit bank be unfrozen, said LIA chairman Mohsen Derregia, cited by Italian news agencies RadioCor and Ansa.
“I’m very satisfied with the outcome, which will return more than one billion euros of assets under the control of the new Libyan government democratically elected by the people,” Derregia said.
The LIA is a government-managed sovereign wealth fund and holding company based in Tripoli.
Created in 2006 to invest oil-rich Libya’s vast foreign currency reserves and diversify income sources away from natural resources, it was a key financial pillar of Kadhafi’s regime.
The Italian assets were frozen at the request of the International Criminal Court in The Hague as part of an investigation into crimes against humanity by the late dictator Moamer Kadhafi and his inner circle.
Kadhafi was overthrown by NATO-backed rebels in August 2011. He went into hiding but was found two months later and killed by an angry mob.
