Libya PM says billions stolen from Libyans by several countries

Libya’s prime minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah said several countries, including Tunisia, Malta and Belgium, had stolen Libyans’ money, adding that Libyans themselves had been smuggling their own money overseas.

Dbeibah said in a speech at the Public-Private Partnership Workshop held early this week in Tripoli that Libya is unlikely to recover the frozen assets, saying “we won’t regain that money, not even in our dreams. We hope the assets remain registered for Libya,” referring to some EU countries’ refusal to unfreeze Libyan assets under the pretext of UN sanctions.

He added that taking Libyan money abroad is “stupid”, saying Europeans say they are institutional states but they are the countries that stole billions from Libyans and added that they “stole the country, not to mention the money”.

Dbeibah said liberating banks is essential in Libya so businesspeople can return their money to the country for investment.