MADRID (Dow Jones)--Spain Wednesday said it plans to freeze Libyan assets in the country, becoming the latest in a series of Western governments that have announced similar measures targeting businesses linked to the regime of embattled Libyan dictator Col. Moammar Gadhafi.
Spain's government couldn't immediately provide additional details on the asset freeze. According to unconfirmed media reports, the assets owned by the Libyan government in Spain are relatively small, compared with those in other Western countries, and they include a portfolio of Spanish properties and Aresbank, a small Spanish lender that underwent restructuring in recent years.
The move comes after Germany and Austria announced similar asset freezes Tuesday. Germany's freeze concerned about EUR2 million belonging to a son of Gadhafi's held at a German bank, a precautionary measure to make sure the funds didn't move prior to anticipated European Union sanctions kicking in as early as later this week.
Meanwhile, Austria's central bank reportedly froze about $1.6 billion in Libyan assets associated with Gadhafi and his family.
Also Tuesday, the U.K. government revealed that it foiled a plan last week by Gadhafi to move $1.38 billion worth of brand new Libyan banknotes out of the U.K.
Tuesday's freezes come on top of the $30 billion frozen since Friday by the U.S. after it announced sanctions on the Libyan government, which is fighting protesters calling for the end of Gadhafi's 42-year regime. The U.K. said Monday it had frozen about $1.6 billion in Libyan assets.
No comments:
Post a Comment