The London High Court has pronounced a compensation verdict for Libya that is worth $380 million to be paid by Zambia for nationalizing the Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel).
The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) had previously dragged the Zambian government to court for abruptly reversing the sale of Zamtel without compensation, knowing that the Libyan company owned a 75 percent share of Zamtel while the Zambian government owned 25 percent.
LIA has reportedly pursued similar action against Chad, Rwanda and Niger, according to Financial Times of London.
"Those four countries took advantage of Libya’s political turmoil to nationalize assets belonging to the country’s $66 billion sovereign funds.” The LIA argued in the report.
At the beginning of 2011, LAP Green Networks, a subsidiary of LIA, held stakes in nine telecoms operators across sub-Saharan Africa, including Chad’s Sotel Tchad, Oricel in Côte d’Ivoire and Gemtel Telecom in South Sudan.
LAP Green challenged the government’s actions in court and was asking for $480m in compensation.
