The Director of the Media Office of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), Louay Al-Grew, said that the LIA Chairman, Ali Mahmoud, received on Tuesday the decision of the General Secretariat of Interpol in Lyon that would permanently remove the request of the Belgian authorities to circulate an arrest warrant for him, hence; the warrant was considered invalid.
Al-Grew told reporters that the LIA had previously objected to Belgium's request of the Chairman's arrest because it was based on political motives, as Interpol in June 2022 temporarily withheld the Belgian request until rejecting it once and for all.
He explained that the Interpol's decision confirmed that the request of the Belgian authorities did not comply with the applicable rules of Interpol, given the political dimension of this case, and that keeping the data related to the LIA's Chairman would endanger the organization’s neutrality, according to Article 3 of its charter. He also said that this decision was part of a series of judicial victories achieved by the LIA in order to protect and preserve its assets.
Al-Grew denied the allegations regarding the LIA's breach of the international asset-freezing decisions, or the existence of illegal transfers, as the LIA confirmed the soundness of its financial procedures and the legality of its funding sources, which was confirmed by reports issued by international offices specialized in financial auditing and were prepared under supervision and follow-up of the Libyan Attorney General's office.
This case is related to the attempts of the Belgian Prince Laurent to seize the LIA's funds at the “Euroclear” bank in Brussels in implementation of a ruling issued in his favor against the Libyan Ministry of Agriculture.
The LIA has previously said that it is addressing the request submitted by the Belgian Prince to the International Sanctions Committee of the Security Council to issue a permit to implement his ruling to seize its funds at Euroclear bank, but the Sanctions Committee rejected.
