Libya fights to recover Gaddafi assets

Libya is to approach the London High Court on Friday March 9 in an attempt to recover a £10m mansion belonging to ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s third son Saadi. The house, in London's up-market Hampstead area, was bought in 2010. It is owned by a British Virgin Island (BVI) company, Capitana Seas Limited. British-based human rights campaing group Global Witness have said that that the representatives of Capitana Seas do not intend to contest the case. “This case is the first of its kind brought by the new Libyan authorities seeking to claw back some of the Gaddafi clan’s illicitly-acquired loot. It shows how easy it is for corrupt regimes to access the western financial system – often using shell companies in British secrecy jurisdictions – and spend their money on luxury lifestyles,” said Robert Palmer, a campaigner with Global Witness. The house is currently occupied by Libyan squatters who took up residence after last year’s revolution. The UK assets of Capitana Seas were frozen by the UK Treasury as part of Libyan sanctions implemented last year. The Treasury lists Saadi Gaddafi as the ownerof Capitana Seas. Previously leaked documents revealed the locations where the national sovereign wealth fund, the Libyan Investment Authority, had its $65bn of global investments. This is not is the first time Libyan authorities have tried recovering the personal assets of the Gaddafis, some previously frozen state-owned funds have already been returned to the country.