Aman Bank, which is 40 per cent owned by
Portugal's Banco Espirito Santo, has been removed from the
National Transitional Council's (NTC) blacklist of companies
whose assets were frozen under a guardianship law while they were investigated
for possible corruption and links to the Qadhafi regime.
The assets of 260 individuals and 78 companies were originally
sequestered under Law 37, which was passed by the NTC in May. This was one of
several controversial measures adopted by the interim authority in the last
months of its existence that may well be revisited by the newly elected National
Congress.
The list of affected companies and individuals has already been
substantially reduced after widespread protests. Some of those originally
included were able to point convincingly to the lack of evidence against them.
Since then further efforts have been made to remove others from the list whose
inclusion is unnecessary.
The inclusion of private companies – in particular a bank such
as Aman, which is backed by European capital – was highly controversial. The
bank's removal therefore comes as no surprise, but another private finance
company, Wafa Bank, remains on the list.
The bulk of those who remain are family members and others with
strong Qadhafi affiliations. The list also includes institutions such as the
Economic and Social Development Fund, which was part of the financial apparatus
of the Jamahiriya.
For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.
© 2012 Menas Associates
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