BANKS AND CREDITORS NOW AFTER LIBYAN EMBASSY
A notice has reportedly been served on the Libyan Embassy in Kampala about the imminent auction of top of the range vehicles financed by a local bank, and notably not the Libyan owned Tropical Bank, which assets were recently frozen by the Ugandan government and had a new management installed by order of the Bank of Uganda. The embassy, already being pursued by a large number of creditors over other debts incurred, including hosting Gadaffi’s son’s and entourage during past state visits, is said to be flat out of cash as the UN led sanctions are making the transfer of funds impossible at present. A source close to the embassy also claims that a cash delivery during the early stage of the sanctions regime ‘had been taken’, insinuating that the cash had ‘disappeared’ and that under the present circumstances, with the regime fighting for survival back home, no money will be available to pay for utilities, staff salaries and benefits, rents and other expenses until well after the civil war in Libya has been ended and a new, transitional or liberation government put in place. Hotels, restaurants, car hire firms, travel agencies but also suppliers of other goods and services are having collectors literally following embassy personnel still around – several are said to have ‘de-camped’ to the liberation movement – and camp out near the embassy compound and their residential properties to attempt and serve notices and demands on them, no wonder considering the hundreds of thousands of US Dollars in accumulated debts.
A quick check with sources in other East African countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi also shows a similar trend that loyalties are split amongst embassy staff, some remaining loyal to embattled dictator Gadaffi while others have declared their support for the liberation movement, and that across the region the embassies have run out of cash to finance their day to day operations.
Watch this space.
