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Major banks ‘hold $4bn of Gaddafi assets’
Business digest: HSBC and Goldman Sachs named among others, banks refuse to comment on current state of accounts
A leaked document has revealed that the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) has around $4bn hidden away in some of the biggest financial institutions in the world, and holds shares in many global corporations.
A report dated June 2010 reveals $292.7m in 10 HSBC cash accounts and a similar amount in a hedge fund, $43m in three accounts at Goldman Sachs, and $1bn at Societe General. Other institutions named include Royal Bank of Scotland, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of New York.
The banks have used customer confidentiality clauses to avoid saying whether they are still holding the funds since they were frozen by the EU and UN a few months ago as an economic sanction against Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi.
In total, the LIA's fortune is estimated to be around $70bn, making it the 13th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world.
Read a full report at BBC News. ·
