Libya: Behind abduction and failed central bank coup in Tripoli

Analysis

Jack Dutton

Aug 20, 2024

Libya central bank governor — Libyan Central Bank Governor Al-Seddiq Omar al-Kabir speaks during a news conference in Tripoli on Jan. 13, 2012. Kabir denied receiving roughly $20 billion in assets that were held overseas by Moammar Gadhafi's regime and frozen during the conflict that ousted him. — Mahmud Turkia/AFP via Getty Images

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Libyan authorities unsuccessfully tried to dismiss the central bank governor on Sunday, and the lender had to pause operations that day after its head of information technology was abducted in Tripoli amid a power struggle at the financial institution.

The Central Bank of Libya announced the pause on social media Sunday, saying Musab Msallem, the bank's head of IT, “was kidnapped by an unidentified group from his house this morning.”

The central bank, which operates independently of the Tripoli-based government, said it would not resume operations until Msallem was released and added that other senior officials had been “threatened with abduction.”

"The bank rejects the mob-like methods that are practiced by some parties outside of the law," it said in a statement.