Funds

Gaddafi Still Has Access to Money

Despite attempts to freeze his assets.

It seems Muammar Gaddafi's assets aren't so frozen after all. Although the U.S. and the European Union member states have blocked the Libyan leader's access to more than $60 billion in overseas bank accounts and investments, other nations have not followed suit. According to U.S. and U.N. officials, Gaddafi has moved billions of dollars back to Tripoli since the rebellion began. The primary culprits seem to be Turkey and Kenya, which have strong economic ties to Libya and have resisted going along with the freeze. But don’t forget about India, China, and Russia, who have also resisted U.S. and European efforts to expand sanctions and say instead that they would halt payments to their own industries that work in Libya. And then there's the issue of the $104.5 billion in cash and gold the International Monetary Fund estimates Gaddafi has stashed away.