Libyan leader, Muammar Gadhafi, has “tens of billions” of dollars in locations near the capital, a situation that allows him to extend the fight against opposition forces despite the blocking of assets abroad, says intelligence officials quoted by the New York Times. Colonel Gadhafi has large deposits of money, the Central Bank and other banks around the Libyan capital.
Since the outbreak of protests and armed clashes, some of this money may have been moved to the headquarters of Gadhafi in Tripoli, according to a source who has links to the Libyan regime. Although U.S. intelligence services have confirmed this maneuver, an U.S. official said Muammar Gadhafi has access to probably tens of billions of dollars in Libya.
Funds are probably available in Libyan dinars and U.S. dollars, allowing the regime to pay Gadhafi’s African mercenaries and political supporters in the context of riots and armed confrontations with the opposition.
Huge cash resources have diminished, at least temporarily, the impact of international economic sanctions imposed on the regime in Tripoli.