Summary
2 March 2011
Businesses and governments across the European Union continue to take action to control the finances of Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, and his family. Meanwhile the Fitch financial ratings agency cut Libya's status to "junk" on Tuesday.
Reporter:
Farhana Dawood
Colonel Gaddafi's government is no longer in control in some parts of Libya
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The economic noose is tightening around the Gaddafi regime. Austria's central bank has said it will freeze an estimated $1.5 billion worth of Libyan deposits. The Austrian Foreign Minister said the authorities needed to check carefully whether money had been deposited under pseudonyms, but his government would seize any property linked to Colonel Gaddafi's circle.
And here in Britain, the publisher Pearson, owners of the Financial Times newspaper, said it had frozen shares in the company held by the Libyan state. The Gaddafi regime has a 3% holding worth around $407 million. The British government has also foiled a plan by the Libyan leader to move $1.5 billion worth of Libyan banknotes, held in storage in north-east England, out of the country.
In Berlin, the German government said it was freezing a bank account held by an unnamed son of the colonel, containing close to $3 million.
The moves across Europe came despite Colonel Gaddafi's assertion to the Â鶹Éç that he disliked money.
"I have a tent. I don't like money. I challenge them and I put my two fingers in their eyes, if they can find any accounts whether it's inside or outside Libya."
It seems western governments are eager to take up that challenge. The Gaddafi family is estimated to have amassed a personal fortune of anywhere between $30 and $100 billion. Some of it is believed to be hidden in secret bank accounts in South East Asia and the Gulf.
Farhana Dawood, Â鶹Éç News
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Vocabulary
- economic noose
here, efforts of banks and governments outside Libya to restrict access to money
- freeze
here, to legally stop anyone accessing money in a bank account, including the account holder
- pseudonyms
names which are different to your own, used to hide your real name
- holding
number of shares owned in a company
- foiled
prevented or stopped (something) from happening
- held in storage
kept in a special place for safety, until it is needed
- close to
almost or nearly
- assertion
declaration
- to take up that challenge
to volunteer to try and overcome an obstacle
- amassed
collected or gathered (a large amount of)
