ISLAMABAD: Interpol has cancelled a red notice for a key Libyan official who is embroiled in a 72 million dollar debt row with a Belgian prince.
The step represents a big loss for Prince Laurent of Belgium, the monarch’s brother, who was accused by Ali Mahmoud Hassan Mohammed, CEO and chairman of the Libyan Investment Authority, of using his influence to wage a massive legal campaign.
Conflict with Prince started in 2008
The conflict dates back to 2008, when the Global Sustainable Development Trust, under the prince, agreed with the Qaddafi government in Libya to start a reforestation campaign.
But in 2011, when the Libyan uprising erupted, the UN Security Council froze all state assets, affecting the ability of the Libyan side to keep up its side of the agreement.
The initial contract of 18 million dollars has since grown to 67 million dollars in claimed losses due to interest and costs.
In 2014, a court in Belgium ruled in favour of the prince’s trust and ordered Libya’s Agriculture Ministry for compensation.
And in late 2021, following a request from Belgium, Interpol issued a red notice for Mohammed, the key official allegedly at the centre of the failed agreement on the Libyan side.
However, Interpol removed the red notice after it came to know that it’s retaining of data on him failed to comply with regulations, Arab News reported.
Libyan officials’ representatives labelled the decision a “big victory.”
However, a separate European arrest warrant for him issued by Belgium is still in place, but Libya is now challenging it.
