In recent news, the European Union has added the Libyan Investment Authority and several other financial organizations to its sanctions list. These restrictions should take full effect as of Friday. The EU’s 27 countries have all collectively agreed to impose sanctions on the $70 billion Libyan Investment Authority, the central bank, three financial organizations and one individual.
Sanctions in Place
To date, the list already has 26 Libyans on it, including Muammar Gaddafi and his family. The full details of the restrictions will be available in print in the EU Official Journal on Friday.
The LIA
The LIA was originally started in 2006 with approximately $40 billion from Libya’s oil and gas income. Many of the current investments of the LIA are in Italian companies. The new sanctions will freeze LIA investments in all EU countries and the LIA will not be able to receive dividends or sell any holdings.
The EU has already clamped down on Libya with sanctions against Gaddafi and his family, with arms embargo, travel bans and bans on exports of equipment such as riot gear and tear gas.
