The Libyan Foreign Bank has launched legal proceedings in the United Kingdom against Zimbabwean entities in an effort to recover more than $100 million in unpaid debt dating back more than two decades, according to Bloomberg.
The case adds further pressure to Zimbabwe, which continues to struggle under the weight of long-standing external debt obligations.
The lawsuit was filed in November before the UK High Court’s Commercial Division and targets Zimbabwe’s former finance minister as well as the country’s state-owned national oil company. The claim relates to credit facilities extended in 2001 that have remained largely unpaid despite repeated repayment deadlines.
Court documents cited by Bloomberg show that the dispute centers on a $90 million credit agreement signed between the Libyan Foreign Bank and a Zimbabwean state-owned fuel distribution company. Under the agreement, nearly half of the facility was drawn down over the following two years to finance fuel imports supplied by the Dutch firm Oilinvest BV. However, repayment was minimal, with only four installments totaling $5.5 million made between 2013 and 2023.
As a result of prolonged default, accrued interest has increased the outstanding balance to more than $100 million. The claim further states that Zimbabwe’s then finance minister, Simbarashe Makoni, approved the Ministry of Finance as a guarantor for the debt, strengthening the Libyan bank’s position in seeking full repayment.
The presiding judge, Richard Jacobs, has granted the Zimbabwean defendants until the end of the current month to submit their defense filings. Neither the Libyan Foreign Bank nor Zimbabwe’s national oil company issued immediate public comments in response to Bloomberg’s request for clarification.
The lawsuit comes at a time when Zimbabwe remains excluded from international capital markets. The country is burdened by external debt exceeding $21 billion, including long-standing arrears to the World Bank and other multilateral lenders accumulated over more than 25 years. These obligations continue to hinder efforts to secure fresh financing or restructure existing debts.
