Italy seizes $1.5 billion in Gaddafi family assets

Authorities in Italy confiscate more than 1.1 billion euros worth of assets controlled by family of slain Libyan leader. Italy's financial police on Wednesday announced the seizure of more than 1.1 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in assets controlled by the family of slain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The seizure followed a request by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, which is seeking the extradition from Libya of Gaddafi's son, Seif Al-Islam, on charges of crimes against humanity. The police "seized today fixed and moveable assets, company stock and bank accounts connected to the family of ex-Libyan leader Gaddafi and to his entourage," a police statement said, which also listed the value of the assets seized. Shares in top Italian firms, including the nation's largest banking group UniCredit, oil major ENI and carmaker Fiat were among the sequestered assets. Police said they further confiscated stock in football club Juventus, a building in Rome, 150 acres of forest on the island of Pantelleria and two cars. A rogatory commission at the ICC requested that the assets be seized within the context of its ongoing investigation into Gaddafi's son and his former intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi, also a brother-in-law to the fallen Libyan strongman. From: Ahram online