Libya has received UN signals that part of its frozen cash reserves abroad is imminent, allowing it to invest them at home or abroad.

The Committee established by UNSCR 1970 on Libya announced the issuance of Operational Assistance Notice No. 8, which contains guidance on the application of the exemption provided for in paragraph 14 of Security Council resolution 2769 (2025) related to the reinvestment of part of the frozen cash reserves of the Libyan Investment Authority.

In a statement issued on Monday, the committee said that the notification was adopted on July 6 and aims to clarify how to apply the exemption, which allows the reinvestment of some frozen cash reserves, stressing that the full text of the notice has become available on the committee's website, without including details about investment mechanisms or the size of the funds covered by the exemption.

Assets frozen since 2011

The assets of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) have been under an international freeze since 2011 under Security Council Resolution 1970, which imposed sanctions on the Libyan regime at the time, with the aim of protecting and preventing the disposal of sovereign assets during a period of unrest.

Since then, the Security Council has maintained an asset freeze regime, with limited exceptions allowing for the management or reinvestment of cash in accordance with specific controls, to preserve their value and limit their erosion by inflation or low returns, while continuing to prohibit the disposal or transfer of assets outside the framework established by the United Nations.

In this context, in 2025, the Security Council adopted Resolution 2769, which approved an exemption that allows for the reinvestment of some of the frozen cash reserves of the Libyan Investment Authority, provided that the funds remain subject to the sanctions regime and that their investment does not lead to their release, transfer of ownership, or use in contravention of Security Council resolutions.

The market capitalization of the sovereign fund portfolio has risen

The issuance of the new executive notice comes within the framework of the UN's efforts to clarify the mechanisms for implementing this exemption, in order to ensure that the financial value of the frozen Libyan assets is preserved, while maintaining compliance with the international sanctions regime imposed on them. The assets of the Libyan Investment Corporation (LIA) are subject to the freezing measures imposed by the UN Security Council since 2011, following the outbreak of the uprising that toppled the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, under a series of UN resolutions aimed at protecting Libya's sovereign wealth during the transitional period.

The foundation, which is Libya's sovereign fund, manages a vast network of investments and assets abroad, including portfolios, real estate and shares in international companies and institutions, valued at tens of billions of dollars, although estimates of the actual size of these assets vary.

In a related context, the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) announced that the market value of its direct investment portfolio will increase to $51.8 billion by the end of the first quarter of 2026, compared to $50.9 billion at the end of 2025, recording a growth of 1.7%.

In a statement, the corporation said that this increase is equivalent to an increase of about $900 million, driven by an increase in the value of the equity portfolio by about $600 million, in addition to the realized returns from dividends and interest on time deposits of $307.7 million.