Statement of the Central Bank of Libya…

Department of Research, Strategic Studies and International Relations 02-09-2024

Given the level of media coverage with respect to the most recent news regarding the Central Bank of Libya, we wanted to take this opportunity to reach out to you and offer a few clarifications. 

First and foremost, we would like to assure all concerned parties that the Central Bank of Libya is back to its “Business as usual” status and all systems have been securely restored and its operations have resumed at full capacity.

The Central Bank of Libya as an institution and its employees are continuously striving to maintain political neutrality and on being equidistant from all parties as its very existence is for the purpose of servicing the state of Libya at large and all its citizens without prejudice regardless of geographical location, political affiliation or personal bias.

The Central Bank of Libya strenuously emphasizes its commitment to the fulfilment of all past, present, and future obligations in accordance with the prevailing laws, standards, and commonly accepted banking practices.

After the previous management fled the country and imposed a system wide shut down and leaving millions of Libyans without access to their bank accounts, salaries, food imports, medical imports and without the ability to manage the foreign reserves amongst other national lifelines. As a result, and in keeping with its obligations for preserving the national interest and the wellness of Libyan citizens, the presidential council issued a decree appointing a new interim governor to the Central Bank of Libya to ensure service continuity.

The newly appointed governor, the already exiting executive management team, and the newly formedboard of directors (please note that the CBL has been operating without a board of directors for over ten years) have successfully and safely managed to restore all aspects of CBL operations and all pledge to Cary out their respective missions in strict adherence to proper governance, transparency, and professional integrity.

The Central Bank of Libya is fully committed to maintaining the highest of standards of financial crime management including the combatting of money laundering counter terrorism financing as well as bribery, corruption and fraud as per FATF recommendation, Basel standards, and all related

generally accepted principles and industry best practices. In addition, the CBL pledges to continue improving on its already robust risk management framework (Liquidity, credit, operational….etc.) as to insure proper mitigation of its inherent and residual risks.

Finally, and in recognition of the significance of proper and effective communication the Central Bank of Libya will remain in close contact with all national and international counter parties, strongly foster such relationships and encourage multilateral Cooperation. We recognize that we are part of the global community, and we intend on being a positive contributor to this ecosystem.