Gaddafi fund gets 38% returns from ICICI ADRs

Sovereign wealth fund Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), controlled by Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has made an impressive return by investing in the ADRs (American Depository Receipts) of ICICI Bank.

As per the portfolio disclosed in a leaked internal document — the Management Information Report of the LIA — which was published Friday by independent campaign group Global Witness, LIA's investment in ICICI Bank appreciated by about 38 per cent in the third quarter of 2010 (between June and September).

"This could be through LIA's investment in the ADRs/GDRs of ICICI Bank listed abroad. The bank has no control over the investors in its securities. Anybody can pick up ADRs or GDRs of Indian companies on overseas exchanges like New York Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange," said an analyst.

When contacted, an ICICI Bank official did not comment on the report.

On the other hand, LIA has suffered huge losses on various funds despite paying hefty fees. ICICI Bank is the single Indian company in the investment portfolio of LIA, whose assets totalled about $64.2 billion as of September 30, 2010. Its investment is only around of in the Indian bank's stake.

The original investment in ICICI Bank ADRs stood at about $29.6 million. However, it was not clear whether the fund is still invested in ICICI Bank.

As per the portfolio, the value of the investment stood at about $32 million as of June 30, 2010, while the same was worth over $44 million by September 30, 2010.

The Gaddafi family has significant personal control over the state funds invested in the Libyan Investment Authority. According to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, "Gaddafi makes no distinction between his personal assets and the resources of the country."

The report also said the fund-owned shares worth billions of dollars in companies such as General Electric, BP, Vivendi and Deutsche Telekom.

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