Frozen International Assets - Every Estate Faces Its Own Issues
Since the death of Moammar Quadahfi last week, the extent of his assets has been discovered to the shock of many, including the American government. Recent numbers suggest that prior to his death he had managed to secret away nearly $200 billion in assets, which included funds held in various bank accounts, real estate and corporate investments as reported recently in the Toronto Star.
Given the current political climate, and the reality that nearly a third of the citizens of Libya live in poverty, the massive estate could certainly assist the government in its transition. However, a portion of the estate funds cannot be accessed by the UN during the course of it's freeze on Libyan assets, and national laws which require that those assets only be released to their rightful owner.
There has been some effort to release Quadahfi's funds to the transition Libyan government, with UN authorization of the release of $1.5 billion of assets, however the timing for the release of the remainder of the funds remains up in the air. The sheer quantity of assets owned by Quadahfi on his death is staggering, even to the people involved. His ownership in assets includes investment in foreign entities which may not be readily liquified. Quadahfi's estate may be in a state of limbo for the next little while, leaving us certain to see international laws interact with issues often only dealt with in internal family circles. I will certainly be watching to see how this plays out.
Until tomorrow,
Nadia M. Harasymowycz - Click here for more information on Nadia Harasymowycz.
