Angelika Hellweger explains the reasons for the Libyan “ghost properties’’ in London

Angelika Hellweger was asked by The National why many prime London properties are lying unused due to sanctions being imposed on Libya.

She explained that the high-value buildings bought by Libya years ago are likely to remain frozen in their “legal limbo” for a number of years, until sanctions are eventually lifted when there is a degree of stability in the country.

Angelika stated her belief that one barrier to the lifting of sanctions is the split that occurred within the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), which was the sovereign wealth fund created when Muammar Qaddafi was looking to invest billions of his country’s oil wealth. It was the LIA that bought the properties that have not been used for years. The fracturing of the LIA into two parallel authorities and the power struggles between various factions has hampered any possible progress.

Angelika said that there does not appear to have been a legal challenge and a ruling that could allow the value of an asset under sanctions to be preserved. Any action that was brought by the Libyans would be “in uncharted territory’’, she added, with no prospect of sanctions being lifted until Libya has a proper elected government.

The full article can be read here.