Kuwaiti Firm Wins Right to Seize Libyan Oil Assets Over $1 Billion Debt
A Middle East construction firm has been granted permission to seize assets from Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) in France to recover nearly $1 billion. The Al-Kharafi Group of Kuwait was awarded $900 million in compensation for a cancelled Qaddafi-era deal to build a tourist resort project in eastern Tripoli, which would have cost around $130 million and taken seven and a half years to complete.
However, construction never began due to disputes over land ownership. The company went to arbitration and was eventually awarded the compensation, but it has been targeting assets owned by the Libyan government ever since to recoup its losses. A French court ruled in 2022 that NOC constituted an extension of the Libyan state, making it liable for debt repayment.
Al-Kharafi has been trying to seize various assets, including a luxury jet once used by Qaddafi, which was previously blocked from seizure due to sanctions on Libya's sovereign wealth fund. In July last year, the company received approval to target NOC's stake in joint ventures with TotalEnergies.
The latest appeal by the Libyans to the Paris Court of Justice was unsuccessful, leaving a total debt of $960.2 million, including interest.