Fed Gave Billions in Credit to Libyan Govt-Owned Bank

At Least $5 Billion in Loans Drawn in 2008-2009

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.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.