The Sentry is an investigative and policy organization that seeks to disable multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy.

Events and Multimedia / / 03.24.26

Mismanagement of Over $1 Billion in Assets Undermines Libyan Investment Authority Reform Claims

The Sentry’s new investigation finds more than half of the Libyan Investment Authority’s assets can be actively managed. Analysis exposes a pattern of mismanagement, internal competition, and corruption.

 

March 24, 2026 (Washington, DC and London) – Fifteen years after the fall of Muammar Qadhafi, a UN asset freeze on the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) remains in place, impacting the sovereign wealth fund. While it’s publicly assumed that the measure affects the LIA’s entire portfolio, a new investigative report released today by The Sentry estimates that of the LIA’s $62.85 billion in assets, roughly half—more than $30 billion—may still be actively managed. Approximately $20–23 billion face no restrictions at all, and an additional $9.5 billion remain accessible through licenses obtained from sanctioning authorities.

In recent years, the LIA has lobbied for a partial lift of the freeze, claiming that it has been undertaking a transformative process to improve accountability and transparency. The LIA’s record undermines its case: The Sentry’s new report finds that the LIA’s frozen assets have likely outperformed those it actively manages, pointing to severe deficiencies across the organization. A closer look at the LIA’s activities in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Liberia, and elsewhere on the African continent reveals that billions of dollars of assets continue to be mismanaged.

The Sentry found that despite public claims of reform, the LIA has allowed a $72 million London building to sit vacant for a decade, losing an estimated $79 million in rent. In South Africa, major Libyan real estate investments in Johannesburg’s “richest square mile” have provided no evidence of return on investment in over two decades. The LIA-owned Michelangelo Hotel, which was the anchor hotel of the 2010 World Cup and jewel of the LIA’s South African real estate portfolio, has been closed since 2020. The LIA subsidiary that owns the hotel has not paid off a $110 million loan granted for the purchase of a real estate block that houses another hotel and some of the world’s most luxurious brands.

In Liberia, the LIA appears to have failed to from its assets. The LIA subsidiary that owns a building once leased to the United Nations in the capital Monrovia appears to have lined the pockets of individuals connected to former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The Libyan Audit Bureau declared that other million-dollar Libyan projects in Liberia had been “nationalized” or mothballed. The LIA has made no effort to recover its assets.

Finally, in the case of Ola Energy, an LIA-owned fuel company operating across 17 African countries, senior management appointments appear to have been driven by political considerations rather than professional expertise. Once in place, this leadership significantly increased spending, leading to substantial losses and $10 million in fines from Moroccan regulators for insider trading.

Justyna Gudzowska, Executive Director of The Sentry, said: “The LIA argues it should regain access to its frozen assets, claiming improved governance. But The Sentry’s findings show persistent mismanagement. These failures are not technical; they’re devastating for Libyans. As the currency collapses, food prices soar, cash shortages force people to wait hours at empty banks, public services crumble, and unemployment remains high, the country’s wealth is not reaching its people. The LIA should prove it can deliver tangible benefits to Libyans before being granted access to additional funds.”

Oliver Windridge, Senior Advisor for UK and EU at The Sentry, said: “Contrary to popular belief, tens of billions of assets have been managed by the LIA and its subsidiaries since the overthrow of Qadhafi fifteen years ago. But the LIA’s current leadership cannot even fully identify its own assets. A forensic audit is long overdue. This will allow the LIA to escape the toxic legacy of the former Qadhafi regime by writing off its losses and assessing the true value and condition of its holdings.”

Key Report Insights:

  • The LIA’s value has been publicly cited at around $68.35 billion, a valuation made in 2019 that has changed little since the outbreak of civil war in Libya in 2011. This figure comes from the 2019 asset valuation completed by accounting firm Deloitte. However, the Deloitte auditors said they did not account for the devaluation of the Libyan dinar in 2020. Consequently, they put the LIA’s valuation at $62.85 billion, a value lower than the $64.19 billion the LIA was assessed at by another accounting firm in 2010.
  • Ironically, Libya’s frozen assets have likely performed better than the assets it has actively managed. While the LIA contends that it has “lost” $4.1 billion in potential equity returns because of the freeze, the UN Panel of Experts on Libya concluded that the LIA’s frozen assets had appreciated by nearly 12 percent. By comparison, it is likely that the unrestricted assets managed by LIA subsidiaries have declined in value.
  • In the UK, the LIA owns a property portfolio via its subsidiaries that it values at more than $1 billion. Yet buildings owned and managed by LIA subsidiaries across prime commercial and residential neighborhoods in London remain idle or partially occupied. Other major assets are actively managed but held via opaque offshore structures.
  • Despite at least $210 million invested in prime South African real estate since 1999, there is nothing but literal bricks and mortar to show for it. No returns have been sent back to Libya, a $110 million loan from 2006 remains unpaid, and a legal battle is underway over some of the most expensive property in the country.
  • In Liberia, the Libyan state invested around $100 million in projects that failed under murky circumstances. In a project that did get off the ground, the LIA and Liberian state jointly owned a property that was used as the country’s UN headquarters. Over nearly 20 years, the UN paid more than $50 million in rent for the space—yet it has never been publicly established to whom.
  • Ola Energy, a fuel distribution company operating across 17 African countries, at first appears like a success story. The Sentry’s investigation into Ola Energy’s activities, however, identified price fixing, insider trading, and corruption that have undermined the company’s performance.

Key recommendations in the report:

  • The UN Security Council should not ease current restrictions on the LIA until Libya achieves more thorough and transparent governance standards for its sovereign wealth fund. Providing access to frozen funds—even under oversight from the Security Council—would remove the LIA’s incentive to better manage the assets.
  • The UN Security Council should condition further sanctions relief upon benchmarks for improved LIA governance and transparency. By more clearly seeking to extract improvements as a precondition for further access to frozen assets, the Security Council will also help those within the LIA who are committed to better stewardship of Libya’s sovereign wealth push back against the political and coercive pressures that they face from vested interests. Without such efforts, Libya’s frozen billions will slide into the pockets of politically exposed persons (PEPs) and be lost to the Libyan public forever.
  • The LIA should publicly release a copy of its audit, asset valuation, and consolidation of accounts, acknowledging shortcomings. This should include a statement recognizing where assets may need to be written off if they have been lost or mothballed.
  • The LIA should publish an annual report detailing its financial performance, including the returns its assets are generating and progress towards compliance with the Santiago Principles.
  • The LIA Board should urgently conduct an audit of those holding positions within the LIA’s ecosystem to address repeated conflicts of interest in the management of its subsidiaries, in keeping with the repeated findings of the Libyan Audit Bureau. This should also include an assessment of the PEPs contracted by the LIA.
  • If the LIA does not agree to these conditions, the UN Security Council should insist upon a forensic audit of the LIA’s assets and accounts to definitively clarify the status of its governance and guide further decisions.

Read the full investigative report: https://thesentry.org/reports/libyan-investment-authoritys-not-so-frozen-billions 

For media inquiries, please contact: Kria Sakakeeny, Director of Communications, [email protected]

###

About The Sentry: The Sentry is an investigative and policy organization that seeks to disable multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy. Our investigations follow the money as it is laundered from war zones to financial centers around the world. We provide evidence and strategies for governments, banks, and law enforcement to hold the perpetrators and enablers of violence and corruption to account. These efforts provide new leverage for human rights, peace, and anti-corruption efforts. Learn more at: https://TheSentry.org