Wednesday, Aug 31, 2011
LONDON (Dow Jones)--A dispute has erupted over control of Libya's $65 billion sovereign wealth fund after the collapse of Moammar Gadhafi's regime, the Financial Times reports.
The newspaper says "several members" of the oil-rich country's National Transitional Council have contested the authority of Mahmoud Badi, a former technocrat in the Gadhafi government, who is investigating corruption at the Libyan Investment Authority.
Albudery Shariha, who was appointed senior director in the LIA's legal department in July 2009, told the paper that Mohamed Layas would remain in charge of the fund. Layas was chairman of the LIA before the revolution when it was controlled by Seif al-Islam, one of Gadhafi's sons.
However, the paper adds that an associate of Badi has insisted that he had been appointed to the LIA on an interim basis by Ali Tarhouni, the NTC minister in charge of financial and oil affairs.
"Mahmoud Badi has been officially appointed by the NTC to clean up the mess at the LIA where we suspect corruption," Mahmoud al-Agori, a consultant working with Mr Badi, said, the newspaper reports.
Full story: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/12a1ac5a-d32b-11e0-9ba8-00144feab49a.html#axzz1WaR0kRfw
-London bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 78 42 9330; generaldesklondon@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
31-08-11 1003GMT
