Libya’s representative at the UN’s Economic and Financial Committee meeting (Second Committee), Ahmed Motamad called for international cooperation in locating smuggled Libyan funds and assisting in their recovery.
He confirmed that recovering the smuggled money will help Libya finance its reconstruction projects and achieve sustainable development.
Motamad explained that despite the difficulties the country is going through, it is committed to achieving the sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations as part of its 2030 strategy.
He added that the sustainable development and stability support program will only be established by achieving justice, and conducting national reconciliation. He pointed out that this matter will only be achieved by ending foreign interference in the internal affairs of the country.
Notably, the smuggled and frozen funds, which include billions of dollars in cash, bonds, deposits, large hotels, lands, yachts, luxury cars, and private planes, are owned by the state, which is unable to benefit from them.
The authorities claim they do not know the total amount of the funds that were “looted and smuggled” abroad. Furthermore, the authorities have not revealed the amount of smuggled assets in official reports.
The years of intense chaos and corruption caused the previous United Nations Special Envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame to reveal the rampant financial corruption in Libya, and confirm its existence.
“There is a new millionaire every day in the country, and the middle class is shrinking day by day” Salame noted. The political class, he added, “is shamefully corrupt and fortunes collected from political ranks are being invested abroad. Politicians in Libya seize public money and invest it overseas.”