Libya’s central bank drops dollar purchase fees to 163%
The Libyan Presidential Council on Tripoli of the Government of National Accord (GNA) announced on Tuesday that it will cut the fee on sales of dollars and other foreign currencies to 163% from August 04.
The GNA, together with the Central Bank set the fee at 183% in September 2018, effectively devaluing the Libyan dinar to bridge the conversion gap between the official and far bigger black market.
The gap has undermined Libya’s oil-dependent economy, contributing to a liquidity crisis and fomenting corruption as armed groups with access to dollars at the official rate make huge profits through import scams, Reuters reported.
Libya earned 11.1 billion Libyan dinars ($7.9 billion) from the transactions’ fee in the first six months of this year, according to central bank figures.
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