€117m seized from ship

BRITAIN has seized €117 million of Libyan currency found on a Libya-bound ship after escorting the vessel to an English port.

The ship was on its way to Britain after trying to dock at the Libyan capital Tripoli, where it decided it was too unsafe because of the unrest in the north African country. A British government source declined to say where the ship had originated.

When British authorities became aware of the ship’s cargo, they informed the shipping company that it could be in breach of UN sanctions on the export of money that could be used to benefit the Libyan regime, the source said.