By Alessandra Bocchi.
Tunis, 22 February 2017:
The Central Bank of Libya under the control of the Thinni administration in Beida has announced that the five and ten dinar banknotes of the sixth series are to be withdrawn from circulation. The sixth series (denoted by the numeral 6 at the beginning of the notes number) was first issued in 2004.
The withdrawal is due to start on 26 February. Holders of such notes have until 27 July to hand them in to local banks.
It not clear, though, if the Central Bank in Tripoli will concur with the decision.
Furthermore, although there are not thought to be many such notes still in circulation because newer redesigned ones have replaced them, there are concerns that the eastern bank’s order will be ignored.
Back in October 2012, the Central Bank announced the withdrawal of the fourth and fifth series of the five and ten dinar notes, setting the deadline for handing them into banks as 31 December that year. The CBL ended up with a mess on its hands, though, when people carried on using them and it had postpone the withdrawal twice. It was another year before it came unto effect.
The country’s current cash crisis is thought likely to see people in the east of the country refusing to hand in the old notes. At present in Benghazi, bank withdrawals are limited to LD 400 per person, regardless of how much money one may have in one’s account – “unless you know someone in the bank”, as one Benghazino noted.
It is not clear at present if banks will hand over more than LD 400 in new notes if presented with larger sums in the old ones.
Russian-printed banknotes ordered by the eastern government’s central bank arrived in May last year, a move that was eventually approved by the Presidency Council in Tripoli.
