Libya demands restitution of assets held by Gaddafi’s Malta company

The Libyan state’s claim for money belonging to the Gaddafi family in Malta has been lodged against the unknown heirs of Mutassim Gaddafi, the late son of deposed Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Both father and son were killed in the 2011 revolution in Libya, a prelude to a massive hunt for the Gaddafi family’s billion-dollar assets and cash reserves spread all around the world.

Bank of Valletta yesterday denied it was party to the claim, which was lodged in 2014 by lawyer Shaheryar Ghaznavi as special attorney to the head of litigation of the Libyan state.

READ MORE BOV cards found in Muattassim Gaddafi’s wallet

The Libyan state wants the Maltese Attorney General to identify funds held by the Gaddafis in the company Capital Resources Ltd, under a mutual legal assistance treaty.

Mutassim Gaddafi was the sole shareholder in Capital Resources Ltd, set up in June 2010 by auditor Joe Sammut – a reference point for Libyan businessmen today – to hold all assets under Gaddafi’s assumed name Muatasimbllah Muammar Abuminyar.

The Libyan Attorney General says that Capital Resources Ltd has assets far in excess of what it could have legitimately earned, besides the fact that Mutassim Gaddafi, as an officer in the Libyan Army, was prohibited from engaging in any business activities under martial law and had not disclosed all of his assets and investments to the army, as was required of all Libyan Army officers.

The Libyan state requested all shares in Capital Resources Ltd be restored to Libya, claiming that they belong to the troubled North African nation and had been held by Gaddafi’s inner circle “on trust basis”.

On its part, the Maltese government has not beenofficially notified of any individual being given an official mandate to represent the Libyan state, entity or government department and no documentation to prove this appointment had been seen by it.

Meanwhile, the widow of the former Libyan dictator, Safia Farkash Mohamed, has appointed a Greek law firm to act as her special attorneys and proxies to receive any information on relevant transactions, as representatives of Captial Resources Ltd before BOV in Malta.

Greek lawyer Ekaro Oikonomopoulos is the special mandatary of Safiya Farkash Mohammed, Mutassim Gaddafi’s mother.

Bank denies it is party to proceedings

Bank of Valletta has denied that it is a party to any legal proceedings, after the Libyan state alleged that Mutassim Gaddafi had deposited millions of dollars at BOV, which issued him with a credit card for his shopping binges in Rome, Beverly Hills and Cannes.

Libya was said to have accused BOV says the bank violated so-called know-your-customer rules that should have prevented it from opening an account for Gaddafi in the first place. “The bank stood to profit from the relationship because his deposits were a cheap source of funding and his massive credit-card transactions generated fees,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

On his part, BOV’s chief executive Charles Borg said that neither the bank nor its executives are under investigation for any wrongdoing related to Gaddafi’s accounts. He said the bank applies strict due diligence on its customers.

The WSJ said Gaddafi used his Bank of Valletta Visa Platinum credit card for lavish spending, sometimes more than €100,000.