By Hadi Fornaji.
Tripoli, 4 November:
The Libyan government has made an official claim on the $1.6 million waterfront penthouse flat in Toronto, . . .[restrict]bought by Saadi Qaddafi.
Saadi purchased the 40th-storey luxury apartment in 2008 for $1.550,000 according to Canada’s National Post. At the time he was studying English in Canada and being entertained by Canadian engineering firm SNC-Lavalin. The flat was apparently rarely used.
In July this year a lien was placed on the property after it racked up $4,431 of unpaid maintenance charges and property taxes. Lawyer Nick Kaufman, hired by Aisha Qaddafi to defend her brothers Saadi and Saif al-Islam, said that Saadi was unable to pay the fees because since March 2011, his assets have been frozen by the United Nations.
However, the Canadian property, purchased in the name of ‘Saadi Kaddafi,’ went unnoticed until December last year. If the Libyan government’s claim on this asset is recognised, it is likely that the apartment will be put up for sale.
This is yet another example of a luxury Qaddafi-era property that the Libyan government is trying to reclaim. The luxury ambassadorial mansion in Ottawa has recently been put on the market for $7 million.
In March it was reported that Saadi’s $16 million London home on a road nicknamed ‘millionaire’s avenue‘ was being handed over to the NTC. It is not clear what has since happened to the property.
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