By Libya Herald staff.
London, 17 December 2014:
The Libya Africa Investment Portfolio’s . . .[restrict](LAIP) HQ in Tripoli was occupied by armed attackers last week with fears that they might have gained access to sensitive materials such as its bank accounts and assets.
In a preventative move, LAIP, more commonly referred to as just LAP, has issued a statement warning that the assailants might ‘’attempt to gain access and control over LAIP’s national and international bank accounts, assets and subsidiaries, by presenting and representing themselves as LAIP’s “new management” having legal authority to bind LAIP before third parties’’.
The statement also warned that the attackers ‘’may attempt to do so by illegally utilizing corporate letterheads, seals, stamps, files and records physically kept at LAIP’s HQ and illegally filing notices of purported authority with third parties in Libya and abroad’’.
The statement stressed that ‘’these actions are illegal, and assisting and/or facilitating such activities is also illegal. As such, LAIP has filled formal complaints to the appropriate governmental and judicial authorities in Libya.’’
‘’In the face of these events’’, the statement continued ‘’LAIP has also executed its business continuity and business protection plans. As part of these plans, LAIP is notifying various business critical third parties of the threat posed by the illegal occupation of its headquarters in Tripoli’’.
‘’We would be grateful’’, the LAIP statement continued ‘’if you could treat with the utmost caution any approach made to your organization by any persons purporting to represent LAIP, and to report the same to me.
Until further notice the only persons with authority to give any instructions to your organization are Mr.Ali ELHEBRI in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr.Ahmed Kashadah in his capacity as General Manager and those authorized signatories you may have registered on your files’’, the statement explained.
‘’This is an unprecedented situation’’, the LAIP statement admitted, ‘’and one that we trust will be resolved once the security situation in Tripoli returns to normal. In the meantime, if you have any concerns regarding the authority and legitimacy of the management of LAIP, please contact us and we will be happy to address any specific concerns you may have’’, the statement concluded.
The statement was signed by the Crisis Management team email cmt@lap.com.mt
Furthermore, the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), which owns LAIP, published a letter today directed to LAIP in which it instructed it refrain from making any changes to personnel to the board of directors or board of executives of its subsidiaries.
The LIA also announced that the appointment of Abdulrahman Ben Iyad on the LAIP Caretaker Committee by the outgoing interim LIA Chairman Abdulrahman Ben Yiza is null and void. As a result, the letter continued, any subsequent decisions of that committee are also deemed null and void.
The LIA reiterated its confidence in the current head of LAIP’s Caretaker Committee , Ahmed Kashada. The LIA also considered all forced entries into LAIP’s buildings, offices, safes etc. as illegal.
The letter was signed by Hassan Ahmed Buhadi, the current Chairman of the LIA [/restrict]
