Did Qaddafi Steal Even More Money From Libya Than Mubarak Did From Egypt? Will We Ever Know?

Sometimes they get worse as time goes by

Monarchies and family dynasties pretty much always devolve into kleptocracies supported by brutal extra-national forces loyal to the dictator personally rather than the state or the citizens, even if they don't always start that way. A couple of weeks ago we reported on the breathtaking amount of wealth Hosni Mubarak and his family have stolen from Egypt in the last 3 decades. Yesterday Radio Netherlands exposed what few didn't already suspect about Qaddafi.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi keeps part of his billion dollar empire in the Netherlands. Tamoil, the Libyan state oil company, which has around 160 petrol stations in the Netherlands, is located in the town of Ridderkerk.

An investigation by Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant shows that Tamoil is a subsidiary of Oilinvest, which is headquartered in Monaco and is active in other European countries. The company trades in crude oil and refined petroleum products, transport, refineries, storage and distribution of oil. It also markets and sells lubricants.

A company which extracts oil and gas for Colonel Gaddafi in Libya, France and Canada is also registered at the same address. 35 people work in the offices in Ridderkerk. In 2009 Tamoil made a nett profit of 26 million euros on a turnover of 7.7 billion euros.

Another substantial part of Gaddafi’s fortune is in Italy, the former colonial power in Libya. Tamoil, for example, is the biggest player is the fuel market there. Colonel Gaddafi also owns shares in UniCredit, one of the biggest Italian banks, and in Finmeccanica, which produces defense equipment. Financially less impressive, but still worth mentioning, is the Libyan leader's stake in football club Juventus.

All the Colonel’s assets are bundled in the umbrella investment company Great Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, which has been headed by Gaddafi himself since 1969. De Volkskrant estimates his total financial worth at 60 billion euros. The lion’s share, over 40 billion, is located in Libya itself.

That isn't the only dirty laundry coming out about Qaddafi as he falls from power. Also yesterday the ex-Justice Minister revealed that it was Qaddafi himself who personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people. And he says he has the proof.

Abdel-Jalil stepped down as justice minister to protest the violence against anti-government demonstrations.

He told Expressen Gaddafi gave the order to Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground.

"To hide it, he [Gaddafi] did everything in his power to get al-Megrahi back from Scotland," Abdel-Jalil was quoted as saying.

Al-Megrahi was granted a compassionate release from a Scottish prison in August 2009 on the grounds that he was suffering from prostate cancer and would die soon. He is still alive.

Expressen spokesperson Alexandra Forslund said its reporter, Kassem Hamade, interviewed the ex-justice minister at "a local parliament in a large city in Libya". She didn't want to name the city, citing security concerns.

Meanwhile, the reactionary kleptocrat monarch of Saudi Arabia is trying to buy off citizens of his country by offering them $37 billion-- of the money his family mafia has stolen from them-- to let them stay on the throne.

King Abdullah, the Saudi ruler, has returned home after a three-month medical absence and unveiled benefits for Saudis worth $37bn (£23bn) in an apparent attempt to insulate the world's leading oil exporter from a wave of Arab uprisings.

State media announced an action plan to help lower- and middle-income people among the 18m Saudi nationals. It includes pay rises to offset inflation, unemployment benefits and affordable family housing.

Hundreds of people have backed a Facebook call for a Saudi "day of rage" on 11 March to demand an elected ruler, greater freedom for women and the release of political prisoners.

UPDATE: Zimbabwe

With Zimbabwean mercenaries shooting down Libyan pro-democracy demonstrators, Qaddafi is rumored to have his private jet-- filled with gold (which he may need, since Switzerland has frozen his assets for 3 years)-- ready to take off and fly him to one of the only countries in Africa even more tyrannical than his own. A French doctor says Qaddafi's on drugs and is only lucid a few hours a day.