A French couple were arrested in early October in the Limoges with 20,000 euros in moldy banknotes in their possession. Banknotes coming from shares plundered at Benghazi’s central bank in Libya in late 2017. At that time, the city center, where the establishment is located, was taken from the Islamists by the forces of Khalifa Haftar. And witnesses accuse the son of the strong man from the eastern part of the country of having seized this liquidity flowing from Europe.
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By the end of 2017, the center of Benghazi was still deserted, water flowing through the streets including the one where the central bank was located. Reliable sources then argued that the looting of this bank was the work of Khalifa Haftar’s son, a report by the UN expert group confirmed in September 2018.
Transfer to an unknown location
According to this report, Saddam Khalifa Haftar, who leads Brigade 106 of the Libyan National Army, ordered the transfer of this money to an unknown location. He was assisted by members of the Libyan National Army (ANL) under high security protection.
Still, according to the UN report, the contents of this bank are estimated at 640 million Libyan dinars, 160 million euros and two million dollars plus 6,000 silver coins.
Not the first loot?
This bank was under the authority of the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Faraj Gaim, imprisoned by Khalifa Haftar’s forces shortly before the looting. As for Saddam Khalifa Haftar, this is not the first time he has been accused of robbing a bank. He did so already in Tripoli in 2011, where he was slightly injured.
The shaped money circulating in France and Germany is therefore likely to come from Benghazi’s central bank. It remains to be seen how he got there.
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