MOSCOW. June 1 (Interfax) - The Russian Foreign Ministry has denied a claim by the United States Department of State regarding the confiscation in Malta of an equivalent of $1.1 billion of "counterfeit" Libyan dinars printed by the Russian joint stock company Gosznak for the eastern Libyan government.
"The contract to print Libyan dinars was signed in 2015 between Gosznak and the head of Libya's Central Bank approved by the Libyan House of Representatives (parliament). The Libyan side made the required prepayment. In accordance with its contractual obligations, the Russian organization sent the Central Bank in Tobruk a shipment with the printed Libyan banknotes. We are working on the premise that said money is needed to support the stable functioning of the entire Libyan economy," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Because of the current duopoly in Libya, it has two central banks: one is in Tripoli, the seat of the internationally recognized government of national accord led by Fayez al-Sarraj, and the other is in Benghazi, whose governor was appointed by an elected parliament, the House of Representative, and thus possesses the necessary international legitimacy, the ministry said.
"Thus, it is not the Libyan dinars but U.S. claims that are false," the statement said.