Latest news with #Gadhafi
Epoch Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Gadhafi's ‘Missing Billions' Stashed in US and Southern Africa, Officials Say
JOHANNESBURG—Billions of dollars stolen by former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are hidden in clandestine bank accounts and secret vaults in the United States and two southern African countries, say intelligence operatives and financial investigators. The latest news was first According to the report, Libya's Asset and Management Recovery Office says at least $50 billion in oil revenues pillaged by Gadhafi between 1994 until his murder in 2011 were invested in 'debt instruments'—including treasury bonds—using front companies, nominees, and banks that Separately, intelligence agents and a former top government official in Pretoria told The Epoch Times about $20 billion stolen by Gadhafi is spread across banks in South Africa. They added that $30 million in cash flown by Gadhafi to South Africa in the months before his execution by rebels is now hidden in Eswatini—the small kingdom neighboring South Africa and the continent's last absolute monarchy that was formerly called Swaziland. The man leading the hunt for Libya's missing public funds, Asset and Management Recovery Office Director-General Mohammed al-Mensli, confirmed that hundreds of billions of dollars were stolen during Gadhafi's brutal military rule. Related Stories 5/24/2025 5/24/2025 Gadhafi came to power in a coup in 1969 and began ruling Libya through fear, and plundering his country's vast natural resources. As chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council and Brotherly Leader of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Gadhafi imprisoned, tortured, and murdered political opponents, and forged close links to global terrorist organizations. Files lodged at the International Criminal Court detail the starvation of entire populations and the bombardment of towns and villages that were home to perceived political opponents. Libyans look at war remnants, including the golden fist that was taken from Moammar Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli and transported to Misrata, displayed at a museum set up on Tripoli boulevard in Misrata on Feb.12, 2012. Mahmud Turkia/AFP via Getty Images In 2003, Gadhafi's regime accepted responsibility for the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, which killed 259 people, including 190 Americans. He paid nearly $3 billion in compensation to the families of the victims. Yet Gadhafi continued to be revered among left-wing nationalists in Africa as an anti-Western, anti-colonialist, and anti-Israel revolutionary. The United States and its allies Tripoli tried to evade the sanctions by illicitly channelling oil profits to secret locations across the world, al-Mensli told The Epoch Times. He said information he uncovered during his investigation will be used by the Libyan government in Tripoli under Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dubaiba 'to lodge legal claims in the U.S. to retrieve stolen public funds in interest-bearing accounts.' Al-Mensli said recovery of the funds would be 'vital to rebuilding' the country, which devolved into another civil war in 2014 until an October 2020 U.N.-led cease-fire agreement. A member of security forces stands behind a weapon, in Tripoli, Libya Feb. 1, 2021. REUTERS/Ayman Al-Sahili News Causing Stir in South Africa News of al-Mensli's investigation has triggered interest in South Africa, where Gadhafi secretly financed the African National Congress (ANC), the party that came to power under Nelson Mandela in 1994 following decades of apartheid white minority rule. One of Gadhafi's greatest admirers was former ANC leader and South African President Jacob Zuma, who is currently facing In 2022, a commission of inquiry Zuma, a Chinese Communist Party and Soviet trained former chief of intelligence for the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), denies all charges and allegations. In the months leading up to Gadhafi's ouster and murder, Zuma and the Libyan ruler met several times. Initially, said Zuma's former top advisor and ANC treasurer Mathews Phosa, the brief for the then-president of Africa's largest economy was to convince Gadhafi to surrender power voluntarily to 'facilitate a peaceful democratic transition' in Libya. But shortly after a meeting with Gadhafi in April 2011, six months before his death at the hands of rebel forces, Zuma 'inexplicably' changed tack, Phosa said. 'He suddenly began insisting that Colonel Gadhafi must remain in power,' Phosa told The Epoch Times. Similar details are contained in Phosa's autobiography, 'Witness to Power,' 'Beginning in 2009, when Gadhafi began to get paranoid about being deposed, I accompanied President Zuma to a number of meetings in a luxury tent near Tripoli,' Phosa said. 'The Colonel promised to donate a lot of money to the ANC, and for Libya to sign military contracts with Mr. Zuma's associates.' The meetings were held under the guise of Gadhafi's chairmanship of the African Union, which lasted from 2009 to 2010, said the ANC stalwart. After civil war broke out in Libya in February 2011, Phosa and Zuma also met with rebel leaders to try to broker peace. 'Those leaders told me they would no longer cooperate in any way with Zuma because he had betrayed them by aligning with Gadhafi,' Phosa said. Two serving and one former South African intelligence agents, speaking anonymously, told The Epoch Times that Zuma also met with Gadhafi a few months before the dictator was executed by rebels in the town of Sirte on Oct. 20, 2011. 'President Zuma offered to fly Colonel Gadhafi to safety in South Africa because the rebel troops were approaching fast,' said one of the operatives. 'Colonel Gadhafi refused and said, 'No; I will die in my own country. If I am captured or killed, please give this money to my loved ones.'' In the months that followed, 'many flights' carrying 'crates of dollars, gold, and diamonds' flew to several locations in South Africa, including a military base near Pretoria, another agent said. 'From there, the loot was transported to Mr. Zuma's compound and hidden in a place that was under the ground,' the agent added. 'Later, when things began to get hot for Mr. Zuma, I hear the cash, etcetera, was moved to Swaziland under the care of the King [Mswati].' Spokespeople for both Zuma and Mswati denied knowledge of the Libyan cash and valuables. South African investigative journalist, Jovial Rantao, has previously presented information similar to that provided by the intelligence operatives. In the Sunday Independent in 2014, Rantao According to the documents, about $30 million dollars in cash, hundreds of tons of gold, and about 6 million carats of diamonds were transported from Tripoli to South Africa in more than 60 flights. 'What could be the world's largest cash pile is stored in palettes at seven heavily guarded warehouses and bunkers in secret locations between Johannesburg and Pretoria,' Rantao wrote, adding that Gadhafi's treasure was guarded by former apartheid-era Special Forces members. He said another 260 billion rands (now worth almost $14.4 billion) was deposited in four commercial banks in South Africa. In April 2019, South Africa's Sunday Times reported that Mswati had confirmed to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that Zuma had transported $30 million dollars to his country. The president's spokesperson would not comment on Ramaphosa's meetings with Mswati.
Al Arabiya
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Egypt flies home 71 nationals from Libya after unrest
Egypt has flown 71 nationals home from the Libyan capital Tripoli after deadly clashes between rival militias rocked the city earlier this month, the foreign ministry said. Friday's special flight by flag carrier EgyptAir 'enabled the repatriation of 71 Egyptian citizens who had expressed a desire to come home,' the ministry said. From May 12 to 15, the Libyan capital was rocked by fighting between an armed group aligned with the Tripoli-based government and factions it has sought to dismantle. The clashes, which saw artillery exchanges in the city center, killed at least eight people, according to the United Nations. Although relative calm has since returned to the city, the situation remains highly volatile as calls grow for the resignation of Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah. Turkey evacuated 82 of its nationals from Tripoli on a similar repatriation flight last week. Libya is split between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli led by Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east. The North African country has remained deeply divided since the 2011 NATO-backed revolt that toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Gadhafi.
The Hill
28-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trial of former President Sarkozy sheds light on France's back-channel talks with Libya's Gadhafi
The monthslong trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy over the alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign is shedding light on France's back-channel talks with the government of then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Sarkozy, 70, who was president from 2007 to 2012, has denied wrongdoing. French prosecutors were not convinced and on Thursday requested a seven-year prison sentence for Sarkozy. The verdict is expected at a later date. Some key moments in the trial focused on talks between France and Libya in the 2000s when Gadhafi was seeking to restore diplomatic ties with the West. Before that, Libya was considered a pariah state for having sponsored attacks. French families of victims of a 1989 plane bombing told the court about their shock and sense of betrayal as the trial questioned whether promises possibly made to Gadhafi's government were part of the alleged corruption deal. The Lockerbie and UTA flight bombings On Sept. 19, 1989, the bombing of UTA flight 772 over Niger killed 170 people, including 54 French nationals on board, after an in-flight explosion caused by a suitcase bomb. The year before, a bomb planted aboard a Pam Am flight exploded while the plane was over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people from 21 countries including 190 Americans. Investigators tied both bombings to Libya, whose government had engaged in long-running hostilities with the U.S. and other Western governments. Now, families of victims are wondering whether French government officials close to Sarkozy promised to forget about the bombings in exchange for business opportunities with the oil-rich nation and possibly, an alleged corruption deal. 'What did they do with our dead?' the daughter of a man who died in the bombing told the court. She said questions in her mind turn around whether the memories of the victims 'could have been used for bartering' in talks between France and Libya. Sarkozy said he has 'never ever betrayed' families of victims. 'I have never traded their fate for any compromise, nor pact of realpolitik,' he said. Libya's push to restore ties with the West Libya was long a pariah state for its involvement in the 1980s bombings. In 2003, it took responsibility for both the 1988 and 1989 plane bombings and agreed to pay billions in compensation to the victims' families. Gadhafi also announced he was dismantling his nuclear weapons program, which led to the lifting of international sanctions against the country. Britain, France and other Western countries sought to restore a relationship with Libya for security, diplomatic and business purposes. In 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gadhafi to Paris with great honors for a five-day official visit, allowing him to bring his bedouin tent near the Elysee presidential palace. Sarkozy said during the trial he would have preferred to 'do without' Gadhafi's visit at the time but it came as a diplomatic gesture after Libya's release of Bulgarian nurses in a highly-mediatized case. Bulgarian nurses On July 24, 2007, under an accord partially brokered by French first lady Cecilia Sarkozy and EU officials, Libya released the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. The medics, who had spent over eight years in prison, faced death sentence on charges they deliberately infected hundreds of children with the AIDS virus in the late 1990s — an allegation they denied. The release of the medics removed the last major obstacle to Libya's rejoining the international community. Sarkozy travelled to the capital, Tripoli, for talks with Gadhafi the day after the medics were returned to Bulgaria on a French presidential plane. He told the court his 'pride to have saved those six persons.' 'If you did not discuss with Gadhafi, you'd not get the release of the nurses,' he said. Libya's spy chief at heart of questions Accused of masterminding the attack on UTA Flight 772, Gadhafi's brother-in-law and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi was convicted in absentia to life sentence by a Paris court in 1999 for the attack. An international arrest warrant was issued for him and five other suspects. Financial prosecutors have accused Sarkozy of having promised to lift the arrest warrant targeting al-Senoussi, in exchange for alleged campaign financing. In 2005, people close to Sarkozy, then interior minister, including his chief of staff Claude Guéant and junior minister Brice Hortefeux, travelled to Tripoli, where they met with al-Senoussi. They both said during the trial it was a 'surprise' meeting they were not aware of beforehand. Al-Senoussi told investigative judges millions have indeed been provided to support Sarkozy's campaign. Accused of war crimes, he is now imprisoned in Libya. Sarkozy strongly denied that. Gadhafi's son accusations Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, reiterated accusations in January, telling French news network RFI that he was personally involved in giving Sarkozy 5 million dollars in cash. Seif al-Islam sent RFI radio a two-page statement on his version of events. It was the first time he talked to the media about the case since 2011. He said Sarkozy initially 'received $2.5 million from Libya to finance his electoral campaign' during the 2007 presidential election, in return for which Sarkozy would 'conclude agreements and carry out projects in favour of Libya.' He said a second payment of $2.5 million in cash was handed over without specifying when it was given. According to him, Libyan authorities expected that in return, Sarkozy would end a legal case about the 1989 UTA Flight 771 attack — including removing his name from an international warrant notice. Sarkozy denied any transfer of money, saying: 'you'll never find one Libyan euro, one Libyan cent in my campaign.' 'There's no corruption money because there was no corruption,' he added. Sarkozy turning his back to Gadhafi The Libyan civil war started in February 2011, with army units and militiamen loyal to Gadhafi opposing rebels. Sarkozy was the first Western leader to take a public stance to support the rebellion. On Feb. 25, 2011, he said the violence by pro-Gadhafi forces was unacceptable and should not go unpunished. 'Gadhafi must go,' he said. On March 10 that year, France was the first country in the world to recognize the National Transitional Council as the legitimate government of Libya. 'That was the Arab Spring,' Sarkozy told the court. 'Gadhafi was the only dictator who had sent (military) aircrafts against his people. He had promised rivers of blood, that's his expression.'
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trial of former President Sarkozy sheds light on France's back-channel talks with Libya's Gadhafi
The monthslong trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy over the alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign is shedding light on France's back-channel talks with the government of then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Sarkozy, 70, who was president from 2007 to 2012, has denied wrongdoing. French prosecutors were not convinced and on Thursday requested a seven-year prison sentence for Sarkozy. The verdict is expected at a later date. Some key moments in the trial focused on talks between France and Libya in the 2000s when Gadhafi was seeking to restore diplomatic ties with the West. Before that, Libya was considered a pariah state for having sponsored attacks. French families of victims of a 1989 plane bombing told the court about their shock and sense of betrayal as the trial questioned whether promises possibly made to Gadhafi's government were part of the alleged corruption deal. The Lockerbie and UTA flight bombings On Sept. 19, 1989, the bombing of UTA flight 772 over Niger killed 170 people, including 54 French nationals on board, after an in-flight explosion caused by a suitcase bomb. The year before, a bomb planted aboard a Pam Am flight exploded while the plane was over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people from 21 countries including 190 Americans. Investigators tied both bombings to Libya, whose government had engaged in long-running hostilities with the U.S. and other Western governments. Now, families of victims are wondering whether French government officials close to Sarkozy promised to forget about the bombings in exchange for business opportunities with the oil-rich nation and possibly, an alleged corruption deal. 'What did they do with our dead?' the daughter of a man who died in the bombing told the court. She said questions in her mind turn around whether the memories of the victims 'could have been used for bartering' in talks between France and Libya. Sarkozy said he has 'never ever betrayed' families of victims. 'I have never traded their fate for any compromise, nor pact of realpolitik,' he said. Libya's push to restore ties with the West Libya was long a pariah state for its involvement in the 1980s bombings. In 2003, it took responsibility for both the 1988 and 1989 plane bombings and agreed to pay billions in compensation to the victims' families. Gadhafi also announced he was dismantling his nuclear weapons program, which led to the lifting of international sanctions against the country. Britain, France and other Western countries sought to restore a relationship with Libya for security, diplomatic and business purposes. In 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gadhafi to Paris with great honors for a five-day official visit, allowing him to bring his bedouin tent near the Elysee presidential palace. Sarkozy said during the trial he would have preferred to 'do without' Gadhafi's visit at the time but it came as a diplomatic gesture after Libya's release of Bulgarian nurses in a highly-mediatized case. Bulgarian nurses On July 24, 2007, under an accord partially brokered by French first lady Cecilia Sarkozy and EU officials, Libya released the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. The medics, who had spent over eight years in prison, faced death sentence on charges they deliberately infected hundreds of children with the AIDS virus in the late 1990s — an allegation they denied. The release of the medics removed the last major obstacle to Libya's rejoining the international community. Sarkozy travelled to the capital, Tripoli, for talks with Gadhafi the day after the medics were returned to Bulgaria on a French presidential plane. He told the court his 'pride to have saved those six persons.' 'If you did not discuss with Gadhafi, you'd not get the release of the nurses,' he said. Libya's spy chief at heart of questions Accused of masterminding the attack on UTA Flight 772, Gadhafi's brother-in-law and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi was convicted in absentia to life sentence by a Paris court in 1999 for the attack. An international arrest warrant was issued for him and five other suspects. Financial prosecutors have accused Sarkozy of having promised to lift the arrest warrant targeting al-Senoussi, in exchange for alleged campaign financing. In 2005, people close to Sarkozy, then interior minister, including his chief of staff Claude Guéant and junior minister Brice Hortefeux, travelled to Tripoli, where they met with al-Senoussi. They both said during the trial it was a 'surprise' meeting they were not aware of beforehand. Al-Senoussi told investigative judges millions have indeed been provided to support Sarkozy's campaign. Accused of war crimes, he is now imprisoned in Libya. Sarkozy strongly denied that. Gadhafi's son accusations Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, reiterated accusations in January, telling French news network RFI that he was personally involved in giving Sarkozy 5 million dollars in cash. Seif al-Islam sent RFI radio a two-page statement on his version of events. It was the first time he talked to the media about the case since 2011. He said Sarkozy initially 'received $2.5 million from Libya to finance his electoral campaign' during the 2007 presidential election, in return for which Sarkozy would 'conclude agreements and carry out projects in favour of Libya.' He said a second payment of $2.5 million in cash was handed over without specifying when it was given. According to him, Libyan authorities expected that in return, Sarkozy would end a legal case about the 1989 UTA Flight 771 attack — including removing his name from an international warrant notice. Sarkozy denied any transfer of money, saying: 'you'll never find one Libyan euro, one Libyan cent in my campaign.' 'There's no corruption money because there was no corruption,' he added. Sarkozy turning his back to Gadhafi The Libyan civil war started in February 2011, with army units and militiamen loyal to Gadhafi opposing rebels. Sarkozy was the first Western leader to take a public stance to support the rebellion. On Feb. 25, 2011, he said the violence by pro-Gadhafi forces was unacceptable and should not go unpunished. 'Gadhafi must go,' he said. On March 10 that year, France was the first country in the world to recognize the National Transitional Council as the legitimate government of Libya. 'That was the Arab Spring,' Sarkozy told the court. 'Gadhafi was the only dictator who had sent (military) aircrafts against his people. He had promised rivers of blood, that's his expression.'
Associated Press
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Trial of former President Sarkozy sheds light on France's back-channel talks with Libya's Gadhafi
The monthslong trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy over the alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign is shedding light on France's back-channel talks with the government of then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Sarkozy, 70, who was president from 2007 to 2012, has denied wrongdoing. French prosecutors were not convinced and on Thursday requested a seven-year prison sentence for Sarkozy. The verdict is expected at a later date. Some key moments in the trial focused on talks between France and Libya in the 2000s when Gadhafi was seeking to restore diplomatic ties with the West. Before that, Libya was considered a pariah state for having sponsored attacks. French families of victims of a 1989 plane bombing told the court about their shock and sense of betrayal as the trial questioned whether promises possibly made to Gadhafi's government were part of the alleged corruption deal. The Lockerbie and UTA flight bombings On Sept. 19, 1989, the bombing of UTA flight 772 over Niger killed 170 people, including 54 French nationals on board, after an in-flight explosion caused by a suitcase bomb. The year before, a bomb planted aboard a Pam Am flight exploded while the plane was over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people from 21 countries including 190 Americans. Investigators tied both bombings to Libya, whose government had engaged in long-running hostilities with the U.S. and other Western governments. Now, families of victims are wondering whether French government officials close to Sarkozy promised to forget about the bombings in exchange for business opportunities with the oil-rich nation and possibly, an alleged corruption deal. 'What did they do with our dead?' the daughter of a man who died in the bombing told the court. She said questions in her mind turn around whether the memories of the victims 'could have been used for bartering' in talks between France and Libya. Sarkozy said he has 'never ever betrayed' families of victims. 'I have never traded their fate for any compromise, nor pact of realpolitik,' he said. Libya's push to restore ties with the West Libya was long a pariah state for its involvement in the 1980s bombings. In 2003, it took responsibility for both the 1988 and 1989 plane bombings and agreed to pay billions in compensation to the victims' families. Gadhafi also announced he was dismantling his nuclear weapons program, which led to the lifting of international sanctions against the country. Britain, France and other Western countries sought to restore a relationship with Libya for security, diplomatic and business purposes. In 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gadhafi to Paris with great honors for a five-day official visit, allowing him to bring his bedouin tent near the Elysee presidential palace. Sarkozy said during the trial he would have preferred to 'do without' Gadhafi's visit at the time but it came as a diplomatic gesture after Libya's release of Bulgarian nurses in a highly-mediatized case. Bulgarian nurses On July 24, 2007, under an accord partially brokered by French first lady Cecilia Sarkozy and EU officials, Libya released the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. The medics, who had spent over eight years in prison, faced death sentence on charges they deliberately infected hundreds of children with the AIDS virus in the late 1990s — an allegation they denied. The release of the medics removed the last major obstacle to Libya's rejoining the international community. Sarkozy travelled to the capital, Tripoli, for talks with Gadhafi the day after the medics were returned to Bulgaria on a French presidential plane. He told the court his 'pride to have saved those six persons.' 'If you did not discuss with Gadhafi, you'd not get the release of the nurses,' he said. Libya's spy chief at heart of questions Accused of masterminding the attack on UTA Flight 772, Gadhafi's brother-in-law and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi was convicted in absentia to life sentence by a Paris court in 1999 for the attack. An international arrest warrant was issued for him and five other suspects. Financial prosecutors have accused Sarkozy of having promised to lift the arrest warrant targeting al-Senoussi, in exchange for alleged campaign financing. In 2005, people close to Sarkozy, then interior minister, including his chief of staff Claude Guéant and junior minister Brice Hortefeux, travelled to Tripoli, where they met with al-Senoussi. They both said during the trial it was a 'surprise' meeting they were not aware of beforehand. Al-Senoussi told investigative judges millions have indeed been provided to support Sarkozy's campaign. Accused of war crimes, he is now imprisoned in Libya. Sarkozy strongly denied that. Gadhafi's son accusations Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, reiterated accusations in January, telling French news network RFI that he was personally involved in giving Sarkozy 5 million dollars in cash. Seif al-Islam sent RFI radio a two-page statement on his version of events. It was the first time he talked to the media about the case since 2011. He said Sarkozy initially 'received $2.5 million from Libya to finance his electoral campaign' during the 2007 presidential election, in return for which Sarkozy would 'conclude agreements and carry out projects in favour of Libya.' He said a second payment of $2.5 million in cash was handed over without specifying when it was given. According to him, Libyan authorities expected that in return, Sarkozy would end a legal case about the 1989 UTA Flight 771 attack — including removing his name from an international warrant notice. Sarkozy denied any transfer of money, saying: 'you'll never find one Libyan euro, one Libyan cent in my campaign.' 'There's no corruption money because there was no corruption,' he added. Sarkozy turning his back to Gadhafi The Libyan civil war started in February 2011, with army units and militiamen loyal to Gadhafi opposing rebels. Sarkozy was the first Western leader to take a public stance to support the rebellion. On Feb. 25, 2011, he said the violence by pro-Gadhafi forces was unacceptable and should not go unpunished. 'Gadhafi must go,' he said. On March 10 that year, France was the first country in the world to recognize the National Transitional Council as the legitimate government of Libya. 'That was the Arab Spring,' Sarkozy told the court. 'Gadhafi was the only dictator who had sent (military) aircrafts against his people. He had promised rivers of blood, that's his expression.'
