Libya is demanding an explanation from France's Societe Generale (SocGen) on how its sovereign wealth fund lost about $1 billion on derivative contracts.
Mohsen Derregia, the outgoing chairman and chief executive officer of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), told Bloomberg:
"We have been in contact a number of times but have not received a satisfactory answer; we are pursuing this matter further ...
"Losses between 15 and 16 percent are considered acceptable, but our shares devalued by up to 80 percent. We want to know what happened."
Libya has also said it is considering legal action against Goldman Sachs over derivatives losses.
Libya’s Economic and Social Development Fund (ESDF), which has about $12 billion in assets, announced in December that it is withdrawing investments from French banks including BNP Paribas and SocGen.
Libya Prime Minister Ali Zaidan said Derregia should step aside and allow his successor to take over after he was fired. Derregia is refusing to leave his post saying his dismissal didn’t follow legal procedures.
(Source: Bloomberg)
