Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Libya’s Sovereign Wealth Fund seeks €15bn in arbitration against Belgian Prince Laurent after Belgian court freezes assets over dispute.
The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) has undertaken proceedings against Belgium after nearly €15 billion of its assets were held by a court in the country as part of a conflict with Prince Laurent. The dispute has pitted a Belgian prince against the sovereign wealth fund built by Libya’s former dictator Muammar Qaddafi is to be determined by arbitration.
Laurent, who was until recently the successor to the throne of Belgium, is striving for €67 million payment for undertakings undertaken by an NGO, Global Sustainable Development Trust (GSDT), desired to reforest desert regions of inland Libya.
How did the Belgian court freeze Libyan assets?
According to the National, a Belgian court held €15 billion worth of the LIA’s reserves as part of his claim. To recover its funds, the LIA has established arbitration proceedings against Belgium at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), function of the World Bank.
What triggered the conflict with the Belgian Prince?
Prince Laurent, who is the brother of King Philippe and is wedded to the British-born Princess Claire, has been in the headlines for immoral reasons over the years. He is sometimes named “le prince maudit”, or “the cursed prince”, in Belgium. His monthly allocation was anchored by 15 per cent for a year in 2023 after he followed a reception at the Chinese embassy in full naval uniform without authorisation from the government. In 2015 he slammed the royal family and their entourage, stating they were like East Germany’s Stasi secret police, and that they had sabotaged his career for years.
The conflict dates back to 2008 when the agreement between the GSDT and Libya was first signed, but the project tumbled with the uprising against Qaddafi in 2011. Prince Laurent, the king’s brother, has been tracking the €37 million plus interest ever since – the figure has now advanced to €67 million and counting. His conflict with the Libyan Investment Authority stems from the sanctions obtained by the UN against Libya as the uprising against Qaddafi started to gather pace.
The international community froze the $67 billion sovereign wealth fund’s investments to prevent them from dropping into the hands of the dictator or his followers. The sanctions remain in place as the UN considered the civil war that followed rendered the country too dangerous for the funds to be utilised in the best interests of the Libyan people. Investments that have been frozen under sanctions include some properties in London including grinding office blocks in the city centre and apartments tucked away on leafy residential streets.
What led to the dispute over reforestation?
It appeared in 2015 that the Libyan Investment Authority had somehow been permitted to divert €2 billion in interest from €13 billion of funds frozen under sanction and kept in the Euroclear clearing bank in Belgium. Prince Laurent then asked a criminal inquiry against the LIA and the banks concerned, regarding embezzlement, money laundering and criminal association in a bid to recover his money.
That resulted in an Interpol Red Notice being allocated against Ali Mahmoud Hassan Mohammed, director and chief executive of the LIA, which was then lifted. As part of the criminal case, a Belgian court held €15 billion worth of the LIA’s funds last July. The LIA hit back a few days later and pointed a criminal complaint against Prince Laurent, charging him with fraud and extortion connected to his bid to reclaim funds.
What’s the history of Libya’s Sovereign Wealth Fund?
The Libyan Investment Authority was founded in 2006 to manage the Libyan sovereign wealth fund, to save and develop the value of the country’s oil revenue resources and to diversify the sources of national revenue away from oil.
