Uganda returns seized bank to Libyan govt.

Uganda’s central bank has handed back to Tripoli control of a major Libyan-owned bank which it seized last year following UN Security Council sanctions targetting Muammar Gaddafi. The central bank appointed new board members and management to Tropical Bank Uganda, a well-known highstreet lender, last March to comply with a Security Council resolution that imposed a freeze on Libyan government assets. But on Tuesday Uganda said it was returning the bank following a further Security Council resolution in December which lifted sanctions on the North African country. “Bank of Uganda is glad to announce the return of Tropical Bank (U) Ltd. to its majority shareholder, the Libyan Foreign Bank and reinstatement of the previous board and senior management team,” the central bank said in a statement Tropical Bank is 90 percent owned by the Libyan Foreign Bank, which in turn is controlled by the Libyan government. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was a critic of the UN authorized intervention that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, but his country complied with UN sanctions and froze all Libyan government assets in the country. Libyan investments in Uganda spanning banking, hospitality and real estate are estimated to be worth $375 million.