Tweet
4 March 2011
Last updated at 08:43 ET
Libyan currency worth £100m ($162m; 200m Libyan dinars) has been impounded from a ship, the Home Office has said.
The ship was intercepted by UK authorities after heading back to British waters following an aborted attempt to dock at Tripoli.
The money, impounded at Harwich, has been taken to a secure location.
The Home Office said: "The cargo is understood to contain a significant quantity of Libyan currency, which is subject to a UN sanction."
A Home Office spokesman said the vessel returned to the UK on Wednesday after initially heading to Libya.
"A number of containers were offloaded from the boat and have been taken under control of UK Border Agency and have been moved to a secure location," he said.
HMC Vigilant, a cutter, escorted the ship back to the UK.
UN sanctions
Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's £900m of UK-based assets were frozen by Chancellor George Osborne last weekend.
And, in line with UN sanctions, the UK has also banned the unlicensed export of any uncirculated Libyan banknotes from Britain.
It comes amid continued unrest in Libya where rebels have seized control of much of the country in an effort to end Col Gaddafi's 41-year rule.
The UN Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanctions on the Libyan leader's regime for its attempts to put down the uprising.
It backed an arms embargo and asset freeze while referring Colonel Gaddafi to the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
The UN estimates more than 1,000 people have died as a result of the regime's attempts to quell the revolt.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feeds | Amazon WordPress Plugin
The ship was intercepted by UK authorities after heading back to British waters following an aborted attempt to dock at Tripoli.
The money, impounded at Harwich, has been taken to a secure location.
The Home Office said: "The cargo is understood to contain a significant quantity of Libyan currency, which is subject to a UN sanction."
A Home Office spokesman said the vessel returned to the UK on Wednesday after initially heading to Libya.
"A number of containers were offloaded from the boat and have been taken under control of UK Border Agency and have been moved to a secure location," he said.
HMC Vigilant, a cutter, escorted the ship back to the UK.
UN sanctions
Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's £900m of UK-based assets were frozen by Chancellor George Osborne last weekend.
And, in line with UN sanctions, the UK has also banned the unlicensed export of any uncirculated Libyan banknotes from Britain.
It comes amid continued unrest in Libya where rebels have seized control of much of the country in an effort to end Col Gaddafi's 41-year rule.
The UN Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanctions on the Libyan leader's regime for its attempts to put down the uprising.
It backed an arms embargo and asset freeze while referring Colonel Gaddafi to the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
The UN estimates more than 1,000 people have died as a result of the regime's attempts to quell the revolt.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feeds | Amazon WordPress Plugin