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BRUSSELS: Libya’s sovereign wealth fund has filed a criminal complaint against Belgium’s Prince Laurent, accusing him of fraud and extortion linked to his bid to reclaim funds from a failed reforestation project, lawyers said on Friday.
The royal household and the king’s cabinet did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The prince, brother of the king, and Libyan authorities signed a multimillion euro contract in 2008 aimed at reforesting desert regions of inland Libya. The project collapsed with the outbreak of civil war in Libya in 2011.
The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) alleges that the prince exerted “unacceptable pressure” in an attempt to obtain payment of nearly 70 million euros ($78.52 million) he says he is owed by the Libyan Ministry for Agriculture.
Law firm Jus Cogens, which represents the LIA, said it filed a criminal complaint against Prince Laurent for extortion, fraud and illegal influence on Thursday.
“We have communicated factual elements to the investigative judge showing, according to us, that Prince Laurent abused his status as a public office holder, claiming he could influence the criminal procedure against LIA and his CEO,” Christophe Marchand, founding partner at Jus Cogens, said.
Libya has been under international sanctions since 2011 and the country’s 14 billion euros sovereign wealth is currently frozen in Brussels-based bank Euroclear.