Jump to navigation

Vol 66 No 10

Published 16th May 2025

Libya

The Gadaffi billions – how Libya plans to reclaim the stolen wealth

PREVIEW

Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi stashed billions in US banks, and now Libya’s power brokers are vying for control of this hidden fortune. The scramble for wealth has ignited a fierce political battle in Tripoli – one so ruthless that the official leading the recovery has been forced into hiding, fearing for his life. An Africa Confidential Special Report by John Hamilton our North Africa correspondent and managing director of Cross-Border Information.

After three months in illegal detention – partly in one of Libya’s most brutal prisons – Mohammed al Mensli, Director-General of the Libyan Asset Recovery and Management Office (LARMO) has been released – opening the way for his agency to pursue the recovery of up to US$50 billion in assets stolen by Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi’s regime overthrown in 2011. 


Read this Special Report for free here: The Gadaffi billions – how Libya plans to reclaim the stolen wealth


Libya's oil and gas resources: at the centre of the political fight

Copyright © Africa Confidential 2026
https://www.africa-confidential.com

Prepared for Free Article on 21/01/2026 at 23:16. Authorized users may download, save, and print articles for their own use, but may not further disseminate these articles in their electronic form without express written permission from Africa Confidential / Asempa Limited. Contact subscriptions@africa-confidential.com.

Related Articles

The scramble for the spoils

Western policy looks confused and contradictory, while the UN stands accused of giving in to blackmail 

The political process set up by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has buckled under the weight of the country's multiple divisions, leaving Western governments confused...

A game of many nations

Turkey's agreement to support the UN-recognised government has upsets the geopolitics of the eastern Mediterranean

The political backing of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey for the UN-recognised regime in Tripoli is well-known, but less so are the subsidiary clauses in the pact...

The Gadaffi clan scatters

After the collapse of the Colonel’s regime, its successors intensify the hunt for its chieftains and its assets

Reports of Gadaffi family deaths and flights by regime stalwarts to neighbouring countries have been greatly exaggerated but as Africa Confidential went to press, the signs were that...

Proxies battle over Tripoli

There's a stalemate on the ground while each side's foreign supporters use high-tech weaponry to try to change the strategic balance

As the campaign of Benghazi-based strongman Khalifa Haftar to take Tripoli slows down, foreign powers are putting more and more resources into the fight, including armed drones and...

READ FOR FREE

States of failure

Foreign supporters of the factions locked in civil war are falling out as the fighting intensifies and solutions are as distant as ever

Fighting between General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) and its rivals has been increasing, while Da'ish (Islamic State) proves that it remains a potent force, despite suffering...


Stories by country

Footer Map