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 22/04/2026 at 16:42. 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

Man-made floods

Despite major questions about its value, Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi is pressing ahead with his Great Man-Made River. He has promised South Korea's Dong Ah Construction and Industrial...

Doubts about unity deal

Elections are planned to fill the power vacuum, but they will have to overcome the poisonous faction-fighting

General Khalifa Haftar's forces control the east, but have not marched on Tripoli and show little sign of doing so. Government of National Accord (GNA) Prime Minister and...

Solid foundations

Chinese traders in Tripoli are watching closely to see how the Western-led attacks on Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi’s regime will affect business in the short term. South Korean...

Family affairs

The family of Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi is the centre of political attention. Doyenne of the Gadaffi Al-Dam branch is the Guide's wife, Safia el-Brassai, who emerged in...

Dubaiba's honeymoon

The new unity government is being courted internationally, but it’s threatened by rivalry between myriad armed factions

Libya's new Government of National Unity (GNU), sworn into office on 15 March, is now widely accepted, despite accusations of vote-buying at the UN-organised Libyan Political Dialogue Forum...


Stories by country

Footer Map