Libyan authorities have managed to arrest the main perpetrator of the 2013 heist of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), Saied Al-Tarhouni. This came after media outlets mentioned his name as one of the main suspects in the case.
Al Jazeera’s ‘Distance Zero’ investigative report revealed details of the largest armed robbery of the CBL, and provided information about the network of those involved in the heist.
The investigation showed that the criminals had stolen funds worth 53 million Libyan dinars ($43.49 million), in addition to $12.8 million Dollars, and €5 million Euros.
Armed men stopped a van in the coastal city of Sirte arriving from the airport, carrying the cash which had been flown in from Tripoli.
In December 2013, three suspects were arrested in southern Libya by the Umm Al-Aranab joint security room. Saleh Haiba, Ali Faraj, and Ghaith Abdul-Hafiz, were handed over to the National Security Center, but an armed group raided the center and forcibly released them.
The Governor of the Central Bank, Al-Siddiq Al-Kabir accused the then Prime Minister, Ali Zeidan and the Minister of Interior of being part of the robbery.
Zeidan denied the accusation, “After the heist, the Minister of Interior and I sent a force in an attempt to storm the site of the stolen money. Notables of the region and members of the General National Congress (GNC) requested the operation be stopped, so as not to shed blood,” he explained.
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