The massive bank bailouts of the last year of the Bush Administration and the first year of the Obama Administration spanned the entire planet. The Federal Reserve, with its tendrils firmly implanted in the world economy, have interests everywhere – even Libya.

That was the revelation of an investigation by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I – VT), which showed the Federal Reserve offered $26 billion in “emergency” lines of credit to the Arab Banking Corp, which is owned majority by the Central Bank of Libya. Over $5 billion was actually collected.

The data showed $1.1 billion borrowed in 2008, and $4 billion from the Obama Administration’s Fall 2009 bailout plan. The US has imposed sanctions on Libya now, but interestingly enough has not sanctioned the bank, which is still owned chiefly by the Libyan government.

The Federal Reserve declined comment on the outstanding loans, but former Fed Bank President William Poole defended the move, saying there was an “uneasy detente between the US and Libya” at the time.

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