THE UNITED STATES has slapped additional sanctions on Libya’s government, banning business with its foreign minister and 16 companies it owns or controls.
The Treasury Department said Tuesday it was freezing any assets linked to Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa to isolate Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s loyalists as the government continues its bloody crackdown on opposition.
Today’s designation of Moussa Koussa builds on the strong steps taken by the United States to apply targeted, financial pressure on the Kadhafi regime,” David Cohen, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in the statement, reports AFP.
The blacklisted companies are from Libya’s banking, oil, aviation and investment sectors.
They are: Afriqiyah Airways; National Oil Corporation; Libya Investment Authority; Libya Africa Investment Portfolio; Libyan African Investment Company; Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company; Libya Arab Foreign Bank; Economic and Social Development Fund Company; Gomhouria Bank; Al Wafa Bank; Agricultural Bank; National Commercial Bank; National Banking Corporation; Sahara Bank; Savings and Real Estate Investment Bank; and First Gulf Libyan Bank.
Additional reporting by AP
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