M A I N   N E W S

Special to the tribune
Cornered, Gaddafis take stock of their assets
Shyam Bhatia in London

February 27
Money is high on the list of priorities of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi as he and his embattled family try to cling on to power in Tripoli. While India and other foreign governments are focused on trying to get their nationals out of the war-torn country, the Gaddafi family is looking for safe places to store their cash assets.

No one is quite sure how many billions of dollars are currently under Gadaffi’s personal control, but one measure of his personal wealth is the money freely distributed by his high-profile son and heir, Saif al-Islam.

Al-Islam is the proud owner of a luxury London home, complete with a cinema, sauna and swimming pool, that was recently put up for sale for £10.95 million. The house failed to attract a buyer, it is now available for rent at £9,750 (Rs 7 lakh) a week.

Al-Islam, who has a Ph.D from the London School of Economics (LSE), also heads a grant-giving foundation that recently donated £300,000 to the LSE.

Questions are being asked whether the LSE should return the money, or else use it to fund scholarships for Libyan students. A BBC reporter who managed to track al-Islam down in Libya asked him if this was the end game for his family. He replied, “The game is not about one person or one family. The game here is much bigger than this, it’s about Libya. Libya should stay and remain united.”

Meanwhile, the Swiss government has frozen assets of more than 20 members of the Gaddafi family, while the US and UK governments are making similar moves by monitoring the moveable assets of anyone closely connected to the Gaddafis. Now that all US nationals have been evacuated from Libya and the US embassy in Tripoli closed, Washington has announced it will be imposing unilateral sanctions. A spokesman said Gaddafi had zero credibility.”

"In view of the developments, the Federal Council has decided with immediate effect to block any assets in Switzerland of Moammar Qaddafi and those who are closely associated to him. In this way, the Federal Council wishes to avoid any risk of embezzlement of any assets belonging to the Libyan state still held in Switzerland," the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement earlier in the week. Interest in Gaddafi’s money is highest in London where it is understood he has cash and commercial assets worth billions.