The fall of the Gaddafi regime in Libya has brought about not only a big amount of infighting among different factions all vying for the control of political power in Libya but also various actions and lawsuits to gain access to the billions of dollars that the corrupt Gaddafi family had stacked in various bank accounts.

In August 2011, it was estimated that about $160 billion in Gaddafi assets, properties and bank accounts had been frozen following a UN resolution. CNN reported that, in total, there were an estimated $100 billion of Libyan funds that had been frozen by governments, two-thirds of that sum held in the United States, Britain and Germany.

These billions were not only deposited in leading countries.

According to a report in the Times of Malta in August 2011, in line with UN sanctions Malta froze €377 million in Libyan government assets, of which €86 million belonged to the Gaddafi family or entities in which they were majority stakeholders. Another €291 million belonged to Libyan companies hit by UN and EU sanctions.

Four years have passed since and the bickering for these assets between the different Libyan factions is still going on. The fight is on in the Maltese law courts between the Tripoli and the Tobruk factions to get possession of two Global 5000 Bombardier executive jets worth $80 million that are at the moment grounded at Malta International Airport.

Then, in May of this year, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Libyan government had opened a court case against Bank of Valletta for millions of euros accumulated by Mutassim Gaddafi, the son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The money is frozen in a Bank of Valletta account.

The Wall Street Journal said that Mutassim Gaddafi started opening BOV accounts in 2002, under the guise of Malta-incorporated companies he controlled. The accounts’ assets swelled from €700 to at least €60 million in early 2011, just before the Libyan revolution.

How did Mutassim Gaddafi amass this amount of money in Malta?

We know that he used the services of former Malta Labour Party politician and treasurer Joe Sammut.

An accountant by profession, Sammut has been handling Mutassir Gaddafi’s money for over two decades now.

According to Malta Today, Mutassim Gaddafi was the sole shareholder in Capital Resources Ltd, set up in June 2010 by Sammut to hold all assets under Gaddafi’s assumed name Muatasimbllah Muammar Abuminyar in Malta.

Answering these questions and identifying any other possible protagonists in this serious affair should be a priority

The newspaper also reported that “for years, Libyan businessmen fleeing turmoil in their country have been finding ‘asylum’ at Sammut’s Malta offices.

“Apart from Mutassir Gaddafi’s interests, he is believed to have housed the operations of Sealandair Energy International, an oil trading concern owned by Tunisian brothers Ghazi Mellouli and Maher Mellouli, that was highly active in Libya’s oil market.

“Other Libyan firms which have found safety in Sammut’s office are Mabco Holding, which operates in the real estate and tourism sectors, run by businessman Jalal Baayou, and Ferasa International Trading & Construction, which is owned by Zuhir Abdusalam Almuntasar who works in the oil services trade”.

The latest twist in Sammut’s vicissitudes is that, a few weeks ago, he was released on bail by the Malta police after being held for questioning over allegations of aiding Libyan nationals to obtain residency permits in Malta through the creation of non-existent companies.

According to what is being alleged, more than 850 such bogus Libyan companies could have been registered in Malta.

In my opinion, it would not be illogical to suspect that in order to be able to accommodate and help out at least 850 Libyans in registering in Malta 850 companies that never really existed, ‘accomplices’ must have been involved.

What is even more worrying is the possible cover up that might be coming from the government itself.

Over a year ago, Malta Today had reported that Foreign Minister George Vella had started investigations into the behaviour of the Malta consul of the time, Marisa Farrugia, with regard to the issuing of thousands of visas to Libyan nationals.

The inquiry was completed over a year ago. Farrugia was brought back to Malta but the findings were never published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Why? Did that happen to stop any names from coming out? Was it meant to stop other things from surfacing?

Answering these questions and identifying any other possible protagonists in this serious affair should be a priority.

arnoldcassola@gmail.com

Arnold Cassola is chairman of Alternattiva Demokratika - the Green party.

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