Here's one for the Guinness Book of Records. The Libyan rebels in Benghazi said they have created a new national oil company to replace the corporation controlled by leader Muammar Qaddafi whose assets were frozen by the United Nations Security Council and have formed a central bank!
The Transitional National Council released a statement announcing the decision made at a March 19 meeting to establish the ‘Libyan Oil Company as supervisory authority on oil production and policies in the country, based temporarily in Benghazi, and the appointment of an interim director general" of the company.
The Council also said it "designated the Central Bank of Benghazi as a monetary authority competent in monetary policies in Libya and the appointment of a governor to the Central Bank of Libya, with a temporary headquarters in Benghazi."
This suggests we have a bit more than a rag tag bunch of rebels running around and that there are some pretty sophisticated influences.
I have never before heard of a central bank being created in just a matter of weeks out of a popular uprising.
This buttresses the suspicions in my earlier post where I highlighted an odd U.S. Treasury statement that froze Gaddafi's assets but made clear that if "subsidiaries or facilities come under different ownership and control, Treasury may consider authorizing dealings with such entities."
This continues to look like a major oil and money play, with the true disaffected rebels being used as puppets and cover, as the oil/money transfer takes place.
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