142 lawsuits filed against Libya abroad by foreign companies since 2011: auditor

TRIPOLI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan Audit Bureau on Wednesday said foreign companies abroad have filed 142 lawsuits against Libya since 2011, demanding compensation of 9 billion Euros (10.5 billion U.S. dollars).

Khalid Shakshak, head of the bureau, released the figures at a press conference where he briefed on the annual report for 2017.

A total of 142 foreign companies filed lawsuits "before international courts against Libya, while the number of lawsuits filed against the Libyan state domestically is 50,000," Shakshak said.

He mentioned that his bureau has "obtained a number of verdicts in our favor by rejecting requests for compensation to companies and foreigners."

The audit bureau last week published a list of dozens of national companies, demanding the government freeze their assets and present their bank accounts for examination, on suspicion of their involvement in smuggling of foreign currencies abroad.

"There are systemic financial corruption that must be addressed for the public and disseminated through the media," Shakshak said. Enditem