Richard Baker
May 27, 2011 - 11:49AM
The Sydney Morning Herald
Muammar Gaddafi Photo: AP
A Libyan sovereign wealth fund controlled by the Gaddafi regime held $US30 million ($28.3 million) in Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank bonds, a leaked report reveals.
Anti-corruption group Global Witness has obtained a June 2010 summary of the Libyan Investment Authority's assets and investments. The authority was established by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2006 to handle the country's billions of dollars in oil revenues.
Page nine of the leaked report shows the fund held $US20.37 million in Commonwealth Bank bonds and $US10.12 million in NAB bonds at June 30 last year. These appear to be the Libyan fund's only Australian-linked investments.
Advertisement: Story continues below The report, which was prepared for the Libyan authority by accounting firm KPMG, reveals several high profile Western financial institutions were holding vast amounts of Libyan state oil revenue at June 30 last year, just six months before the country descended into civil war.
In February, governments around the world froze assets tied to Colonel Gaddafi's regime, including the Libyan Investment Fund. American, Britain and France are now providing military support to the rebels in their attempt to oust Colonel Gaddafi.
The Libyan fund had assets and investments worth $US53.3 billion at the end of June last year. British-based bank HSBC is shown in the report as holding $US292.7 million in cash on behalf of the fund across 10 accounts. The Royal Bank of Scotland handled $US110 million from the fund through a private-equity vehicle under its control, the report shows.
US banks such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, as well as France's Societe General and Italy's UniCredit, also handled tens of millions of dollars on behalf of the Libyan fund.
The fund also held shares in well known companies such as BP, Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, Vodafone, Pfizer and Nokia.
Colonel Gaddafi and his son Saif al Islam are reported to have exercised considerable control over the Libyan Investment Authority, raising fears some of the investments could be abused for the personal gain of their personal gain.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Colonel Gaddafi "makes no distinction between his personal assets and the resources of the country" in a document filed at The Hague this month.
Global Witness campaigner Robert Palmer told ABC radio's PM program yesterday that new laws were required to force banks and investment funds to publish all the state funds they managed.
"This would cost nothing and would allow citizens to see that state revenues are not being stolen by corrupt leaders," Mr Palmer said.
The KPMG prepared report shows the Libyan fund made some poor investments last year, including a $US1.25 billion gamble in equity derivatives that produced a 98.5 per cent loss - leaving just $US19.8 million at the end of June.
Comment has been sought from Commonwealth and National Australia Banks.
See the Libyan Investment Authority document at http://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/LIA.pdf
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/gaddafis-aussie-banks-link-20110527-1f7ae.html#ixzz1NY355jH5
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