Libya to deposit $2bn in Egypt central bank

Libya is completing an arrangement to deposit $2 billion in the Egyptian central bank, the Libyan ambassador to Cairo told Turkey’s Anatolia news agency on Sunday, in an apparent quid pro quo days after Egypt decided to extradite a cousin of Muammar Gaddafi. The deposit, which is equivalent to an open loan, allows Egypt to temporarily boost its currency supply after its reserves fell below $15 billion from a previous amount of $36 billion before the revolution. Amid stalled negotiations with the International Monetary Fund over a 4.8 billion loan, Egypt’s Islamist rulers have sought alternative ways to reboot the country’s economy. In January, Qatar lent Egypt $2 billion and gave it an outright $500. The tiny rich Gulf state, which has supported Egypt’s uprising, also pledged to support Egypt in its path of economic recovery. The announcement by Libya’s ambassador to Cairo Mohamed Fayez Jibril came after Egypt’s state prosecutor decided Sunday to eradicate former Libyan regime figures who fled to Cairo during the Libyan uprising. One of these figures is Ahmed Gadhaf al-Dam, the cousin of Muammar Gaddafi and former intelligence official. He was arrested on March 19 in his home in Cairo’s upscale district of Zamalek after several hours of siege. The state prosecutor ordered him detained for one month pending investigations into unknown charges. The state MENA news agency reported that he would be handed over to the Libyan authorities. Ali Maria, the former Libyan ambassador to Cairo and Mohammed Ibrahim, the brother of senior Gaddafi-era official Ahmed Ibrahim, were also arrested.  Albawaba Business