Jeremy Wright:
LIBYAN authorities have reportedly asked the South African leader, Cyril Ramaphosa, to help recover millions of dollars Muammar Gaddafi smuggled out of the country and allegedly handed to Jacob Zuma.
The small fortune is now said to be in the hands of the King of Swaziland and has become entangled in a domestic South African political drama as Mr Ramaphosa seeks to crack down on the allegations of corruption that marred his predecessor’s period in power.
Gaddafi allegedly handed $23million to Mr Zuma for safekeeping shortly before he was overthrown and killed in a Nato-backed uprising in 2011.
Mr Zuma had disagreed with international military intervention in Libya and had offered Gaddafi asylum in South Africa. The dictator turned down the offer, but instead reportedly asked the South African president to take care of some of his wealth.
“Gaddafi refused to go. He said he will die in his own country. He gave them money and said: ‘Please use this if I’m captured and taken to the International Criminal Court, find a good lawyer for me’. He said, ‘If I’m killed, please give it to my family’,” a source told South Africa’s Sunday Times.
Mr Zuma allegedly held the stash of high-denomination US dollar bills for several years in an underground vault at his home in rural Kwazulu Natal, according to government sources.
But it is claimed that he handed it over to King Mswati of Swaziland (now known as Eswatini) in February after fearing he would face charges over corruption allegations.
The newspaper reported that the cash is now held by a relative employed by Swaziland’s central bank.
King Mswati, who has 15 wives and more than 20 children, denied he had the Gaddafi money but reportedly admitted to knowing of its whereabouts when he met Mr Ramaphosa for the second time last week.
The stash is a relatively small part of Gaddafi’s missing millions.
Experts appointed by the UN Security Council in 2017 to trace missing Libyan money allegedly found at least $20billion in South Africa.
Mr Ramaphosa and Mr Zuma declined to comment.