Report: EU banks held billions in Libyan assets

Several top EU banks are listed as among those happy to profit off Libyan state oil revenues, with French bank Societe Generale holding $1.8 billion of LIA money in three funds.

HSBC held $293 million on deposit across various accounts, with a further $275 million stashed in an HSBC hedge fund, according to the report.

Private equity funds belonging to the Royal Bank of Scotland managed $110 million, while $182 million was held in accounts and funds run by US investment bank Goldman Sachs.

The EU has since imposed sanctions and frozen LIA assets following Libya's popular uprising this year and the wave of violence directed by Gaddafi towards rebels and civilians, but the banks still refuse to confirm they are holding the funds, says Global Witness.

"It is completely absurd that banks like HSBC and Goldman Sachs can hide behind customer confidentiality in a case like this," the group's director, Charmian Gooch, said.

"These are state accounts, so the customer is effectively the Libyan people and these banks are withholding vital information from them."

The Gaddafi family has significant personal control over the state funds invested in the Libyan Investment Authority, stresses the campaign group, with the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court recently saying: "Gaddafi makes no distinction between his personal assets and the resources of the country."

Leaders of the G8 club of rich nations discussed Libya and the country's dictator during a summit in Deauville, France, on Thursday (26 May).

French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged Gaddafi to step down, declaring that "all options are open". He added: "We are not saying that Gaddafi needs to be exiled. He must leave power and the quicker he does it, the greater his choice."

In Brussels, Libya's EU ambassador Hadeiba Hadi on Thursday defected along with his staff to join the struggle for greater democracy, the decision coming some weeks after other Libyan diplomats around the world decided to switch sides.

"After more than four months of the blood-letting of our people, my colleagues and myself at the Libyan popular bureau in Brussels find ourselves obliged to announce our decision to no longer represent the regime," Hadi said in a statement, reports AFP.