Swiss relax sanctions against Libya
Money transfers to certain Libyan state companies will be possible from Thursday, the Swiss government has decided.
The relaxation of sanctions in Switzerland is in accordance with the United Nations resolution of September 16 on the issue.
Switzerland had imposed the sanctions, including freezing assets, earlier this year.
Frozen assets belonging to the companies in question will remain blocked, a statement said on Wednesday. There is currently around SFr265 million ($303 million) frozen, of which 90 per cent belongs to Libyan state companies.
The firms in question are the Central Bank of Libya, the Libyan Investment Authority, the Libyan Foreign Bank and the Libyan Africa Investment Portfolio.
The UN Security Council had decided to relax sanctions in September following the fall of Moammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya. It also struck two oil companies off its sanction list.
Switzerland lifted sanctions against these two firms on September 21, releasing SFr385 million in blocked money.
In addition, the Swiss have now also lifted flight restrictions for Libyan aircraft in Swiss airspace, which had been in force since March 31.
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