Libya pulls out $1 bn US assets

The Libyan Central Bank has withdrawn $1 billion of assets which had been frozen for almost two decades in the US on Washington’s orders, a bank official has said.

The move follows the ending of a US trade embargo in Sept. by US President George Bush to reward Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for giving up weapons of mass destruction. The previously frozen assets, which have been invested in various countries, are believed to include equity holdings in banks. —Reuters