TRIPOLI: Libya’s Tripoli-based central bank said on Sunday it would shut down all operations and not resume work until a senior bank official kidnapped earlier in the day was released.
The central bank is the only internationally recognized depository for Libyan oil revenues, a vital economic income for a country torn for years between two rival governments in Tripoli and Benghazi.
The bank said an unknown party was behind the abduction on Sunday of Musaab Muslam, head of its information technology department.
“The bank rejects the mob-like methods that are practiced by some parties outside of the law,” it said in a statement.
It added that other bank officials had also been threatened and therefore it would suspend operations until “these practices are stopped and the concerned authorities intervene.”
Richard Norland, the US ambassador to Libya, said last week that attempts to replace the bank’s senior management by force could result in the North African country losing access to international financial markets.
Norland met with bank governor Sadiq Kabir to discuss concerns about armed groups gathering around the bank’s headquarters in Tripoli, the US embassy said.
“Disputes over distribution of Libya’s wealth must be settled through transparent, inclusive negotiations toward a unified, consensus-based budget,” Norland said.
Libya has enjoyed little peace since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi, and it divided in 2014 between warring eastern and western factions.
On Aug. 9, at least nine people were killed and 16 wounded after clashes erupted between two armed factions in Tajoura, an eastern suburb of Tripoli.
Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity is headed by interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah, who was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021.
Eastern Libya, where the national parliament is based, is under the effective control of military commander Khalifa Haftar.
Despite a 2020 truce and efforts to formally reunify institutions, a political solution has proven elusive.
Libya’s central bank suspends operations after kidnapping of official
https://arab.news/4gyz3
Libya’s central bank suspends operations after kidnapping of official
- The bank said an unknown party was behind the abduction on Sunday of Musaab Muslam, head of its information technology department
- Other bank officials had also been threatened
Syria’s growth accelerates as sanctions ease, refugees return
- Economy grows much faster than World Bank’s 1% estimate, fueling plans for currency’s relaunch
NEW YORK: Syria’s economy is growing much faster than the World Bank’s 1 percent estimate for 2025 as refugees flow back after the end of a 14-year civil war, fueling plans for the relaunch of the country’s currency and efforts to build a new Middle East financial hub, central bank Governor AbdulKader Husrieh has said.
Speaking via video link at a conference in New York, Husrieh also said he welcomed a deal with Visa to establish digital payment systems and added that the country is working with the International Monetary Fund to develop methods to accurately measure economic data to reflect the resurgence.
The Syrian central bank chief, who is helping guide the war-torn country’s reintegration into the global economy after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime about a year ago, described the repeal of many US sanctions against Syria as “a miracle.”
The US Treasury on Nov. 10 announced a 180-day extension of the suspension of the so-called Caesar sanctions against Syria; lifting them entirely requires approval by the US Congress.
Husrieh said that based on discussions with US lawmakers, he expects the sanctions to be repealed by the end of 2025, ending “the last episode of the sanctions.”
“Once this happens, this will give comfort to our potential correspondent banks about dealing with Syria,” he said.
Husrieh also said that Syria was working to revamp regulations aimed at combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, which he said would provide further assurances to international lenders.
Syria’s central bank has recently organized workshops with banks from the US, Turkiye, Jordan and Australia to discuss due diligence in reviewing transactions, he added.
Husrieh said that Syria is preparing to launch a new currency in eight note denominations and confirmed plans to remove two zeroes from them in a bid to restore confidence in the battered pound.
“The new currency will be a signal and symbol for this financial liberation,” Husrieh said. “We are glad that we are working with Visa and Mastercard,” Husrieh said.
