(ANSAmed) - VALLETTA, 12 MAG - The Libyan government is putting pressure on Malta to obtain the restitution of part of the assets taken abroad by Muammar Gaddafi.
    The government is seeking to recover 80 million euros deposited in accounts at the Bank of Valletta (BoV) by the dictator's late son Mutassim, over which heirs of the Libyan dictator who died in 2011 have been fighting a legal battle since 2012.
    The topic was one of the main points of discussion in a meeting in Valletta between Maltese Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo and his Libyan counterpart Najla El-Mangoush, Maltese government sources told Times of Malta. They said the meeting also dealt with migration and the resumption of many of the flights between Libya and Malta as well as trade relations between the two countries.
    During his 40 years ruling Libya, Muammar Gaddafi made significant personal investments in Malta.
    After the revolution and the dictator's death, the new Libyan government identified the funds that Gaddafi's son, Mutassim, had deposited in Malta through the company Capital Resources Ltd.
    In February, after a year-long hiatus due to the pandemic, the legal battle in Malta resumed between Gaddafi's heirs and the Libyan government.
    The Libyan foreign minister on Wednesday asked for help from the Maltese government to have the money released.
    Sources in the Maltese foreign ministry told Times of Malta that Bartolo told his Libyan counterpart that while the Maltese government would assist Libya in sharing information on the matter, it would not take any steps until an ongoing court battle over the funds is concluded. (ANSAmed).