By Libya Herald reporters.
London, 21 October 2012:
The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) is not to be allowed to appeal a 2016 London High Court judgement in which it lost a $1.2 billion claim against US bankers Goldman Sachs.
The British appeal court judge has ruled that the appeal by the sovereign wealth fund had little chance of success. The LIA argued in the original case that its inexperienced officials had been persuaded in 2008 by the US bank to take up nine complex derivative positions which they did not understand. They had thought that they were buying shares. In the market crash later that year, the value of these investments was completely wiped out. Meanwhile Goldman had earnt $200 million in fees.
The LIA had intended to argue in its appeal that the offer of a coveted Goldman Sachs internship to Haithem Zarti, the younger brother of top LIA official Mustafa Zarti, constituted a bribe. In the original case, the court had been told of lavish entertainment including flying executives to Morocco and providing prostitutes.
An LIA official contacted by Reuters said last night that the fund was considering its position.
