LIBYA WAR:Hunt for Gaddafi and his billions

Laaska News  August 30,2011
Andreeva Svetlana

Russia’s envoy in the UN Vitaly Churkin. Photo: RIA Novosti 

Moscow has upheld the initiative of the US and the UN Security Council to unfreeze the US accounts of Muammar Gaddafi and spend the money on humanitarian aid to the Libyan people.

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The US government came up with the initiative to transfer $1.5 billion kept of Gaddafi’s account in the American banks to the Transitional National Council of the rebellious government.

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The initiative was approved by the UN Security Council and later by London and Paris. Russia is not against this measure but only if a number of obligatory conditions is observed, Russia’s envoy in the UN Vitaly Churkin said. Moscow insists on transparency of control over the distribution of the funds. Earlier there were reports that the money from Gaddafi’s personal accounts will be spent on financing the presidential and parliamentary elections.

It is not easy to ensure that everyone who needs humanitarian aid in Libya will receive it, Vladimir Shubin, a senior researcher with the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences says.

“The local population is suffering from NATO air attacks and military clashes so humanitarian aid is quite justified even despite some uncertainty of the political situation. However this aid should not look like a gift to those, who violated the UN Charter and international law. It will be absolutely right to de-politicize the financial aid and to send it to the districts controlled by rebels and the districts which are still held by the forces of the former government. It is necessary to observe theconditions proposed by Russia.”

While Russia is urging the global community to depoliticize the humanitarian aid to Libya, Tripoli citizens are independently distributing the remaining property of Gaddafi and his family.

According to the photographs in the Internet, the rebels have laid their hands on the collections of art items, jewelry and luxury cars. This nationalization looks more like looting and the distribution often ends up with armed clashes between the claimants to the Colonel’s property.

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But the property confiscated by rebels is only a small part of Gaddafi’s fortune. According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the Colonel still holds at least $ 50 billion in secret accounts in banks in South Africa, Algeria, Egypt and Ukraine where the bankers don’t ask questions about the origin of the funds.

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SPEAKER: The hunt is on not only for Gaddafi’s money but for him and his family.

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Gaddafi’s wife together with several children has managed to flee to Algeria but their further destination is unknown. According to the Libyan diplomatic sources, the head of the clan and his sons Seif al Islam and Saadi are still in Libya, presumably near the town of Bani- Valid, 100 km south-east from Tripoli. One thing is clear Gaddafi and his family won’t be left alone.
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