The legal team of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) filed a civil suit on Thursday against Prince Laurent, brother of the Belgian king, on charges of fraud and extortion and his alleged influence on the course of an ongoing investigation in the case related to a failed reforestation project run through his NGO Global Sustainable Development Trust (GSDT) in Libya in 2008, which collapsed after the uprising against the former regime in 2011.
The law group gave a briefing at a press conference in Brussels on Friday after Prince Laurent won a case against the Libyan government for not paying agreed financial compensation, which amounts to nearly 70 million euros.
The LIA said the Belgian Prince has been interfering in the open judicial procedures since 2015.
Belgian justice is currently investigating the source of funds deposited in Belgium by the former Libyan regime with a focus on releasing more than 2.7 billion euros of interest that were frozen in 2012 and 2017 under the pretext that they were not in compliance with international regulations.
The LIA's lawyers said they would pursue all legal remedies before the Belgian courts, hinting that this complaint would arouse international interest and challenge the independence of the Belgian judicial system.
On the other hand, Prince Laurent’s lawyer mocked the accusations saying that the Libyan dignitaries are trying to save face because they’ve just lost a 13th time before the Belgian courts and in Luxembourg.
