After withdrawing certain bank notes from circulation by the 30 September 2025, the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) announced in a statement today that the total amount returned to it of the second edition LD 20 notes, known as “Hibri issue,” amounted to 19.9 billion dinars, despite the officially approved quantity not exceeding 13.4 billion dinars. This represents a difference of 6.5 billion dinars printed outside the legal channels.
The Hibri issues have Ali Hibri’s signature on them as they were printed in Russia by him when he was acting as the Governor of the eastern CBL when the CBL was split in two.
The CBL said the printing of the 20-dinar banknote by Benghazi / Hibri affected the value of the dinar and increased the risk of money laundering. It vowed that it would take all legal measures regarding these violations, and we hold all state institutions responsible for the matter.
In comparison, the CBL stated that the total amount withdrawn of the (official) first edition of the 20-dinar banknote printed in Britain amounted to approximately 7.7 billion dinars, compared to 8 billion dinars printed in this denomination.
Regarding the 5-dinar banknote, the total amount withdrawn amounted to 2.5 billion dinars, while the Central Bank issued 2.8 billion dinars.
As for the 1-dinar banknote, the Central Bank issued a total amount of 100 million dinars, and the amount deposited into the Central Bank amounted to 37 million dinars.
The value withdrawn from circulation in denominations of 50, 20, 5, and 1 dinar is 47 billion dinars.
The CBL clarified in its statement that it had now contracted to print 60 billion new Libyan dinars to replace the damaged and withdrawn currency, confirming that the total amount supplied so far includes:
• 37.4 billion dinars of one-dinar banknotes.
• 2.5 billion dinars of five-dinar banknotes.
Returning confidence in the Libyan dinar
The Central Bank stressed that these measures are part of a comprehensive plan aimed at controlling the money supply in circulation and ensuring the integrity of currency issuance, thus enhancing confidence in the national currency and maintaining the stability of the country’s financial system.
