Al-Sharif: “The Central Bank Announces the Possibility of Supplying Foreign Currency After Years of Involving Libyans with Cards… An Investigation Must Be Opened”

Economic expert Idris Al-Sharif said: “Who is responsible! The Central Bank states that it intends to supply $500 million in cash to be distributed to exchange companies that have recently obtained licenses to operate from the Central Bank!”

He continued: “This announcement comes after many years during which the Central Bank claimed there was an international ban preventing the cash supply of foreign currency to Libya following the robbery incident in Sirte!”

He added: “Based on this claim (which has now been proven false), Libyans were (involved) in withdrawing personal allocations through Visa and Mastercard cards, which cost them and the national economy billions of dollars in favor of foreign banks and companies—not to mention travel expenses to other countries to cash these cards and the security issues that involved thousands of Libyans, whose consequences continue to appear day after day!”

He went on: “Doesn’t this situation deserve a criminal investigation into this economic disaster, the scale of whose losses can be easily determined and estimated?”

He said: “Even assuming the ban was real, the Central Bank had another available and legal method that was much easier and cheaper, which is opening foreign currency accounts for individuals as stipulated by banking law, crediting the value to their accounts, and allowing them to transfer or use it. The Central Bank was warned many times to implement this. Now, after deciding to provide foreign currency in cash, it could even allow individuals to withdraw it.”

He added: “Exchange companies worldwide exist to support banks that have the primary authority in this matter. We see no justification for excluding banks from selling foreign currency in cash, especially since the process can be monitored via customer accounts and national ID numbers—unless the Central Bank believes it can supervise exchange companies (spread across Libya) better than the banks it directly oversees… and this is a major problem in itself!”

He continued: “The Central Bank previously announced the purpose of requiring money dealers to obtain licenses, which is to (regulate the current situation) in the exchange market and monitor and control it.

“Now, providing foreign currency in cash… and at this amount… to companies owned by (money dealers) while ignoring the banks, which have the primary role, and their customers among citizens, is another matter entirely.”

He added: “Wouldn’t it be more appropriate, accurate, and efficient to distribute these cash allocations to citizens’ accounts according to their national ID? Instead of concentrating profits in the pockets of a hundred or two hundred dealers, it would be distributed among millions of Libyans!”

He explained: “Here, citizens could sell their allocations in cash or via bank transfers to the exchange company, which could sell it to interested dealers or others, benefiting both the citizen and the exchange company.”

He concluded: “As for claiming that the black market can only be eliminated through sales via exchange companies, this will not happen as long as there is (abnormal) demand for foreign currency whose real causes have not been addressed, and these causes are known to every observer.”