The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) says it will abandon its head office in Tripoli after senior management suffered a number of security breaches.
An announcement from the sovereign wealth fund stated staff had been threatened and abducted by rival armed gangs that patrol Tripoli. The fund did not reveal its new location.
The LIA also said it had suspended the email accounts of its top executives, including its chairman Ali Mahmoud Hassan Mohamed, due to threats and online intimidation.
“The LIA is faced with a series of violations and abuses due to blatant interference by armed members of the battalion charged with protecting the tower,” it stated. “The authority rejects these actions and announces the transfer of its headquarters from the Tripoli Tower as a result of security breaches.”
The sovereign wealth fund, which holds around $66 billion in mostly frozen assets, has had a troubled existence since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. It has endured international lawsuits over investments made during the Gaddafi era and internal power struggles between its senior executives.
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