The council named Mohamed Abdul Salam al-Shukri as the new governor for the Central Bank of Libya, replacing Sadiq al-Kabir, according to a decree issued late Sunday. Al-Shukri is an economist and former deputy governor of the central bank.
The Tripoli-based council is allied with the government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah in western Libya.
There was no immediate comment from al-Kabir, who led the central bank since October 2011 — the year that Libya was plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.
The replacement of the central bank governor comes after the bank suspended its operations following the abduction of a senior official outside his home by unknown assailants early on Sunday.
Oil revenues
It said several bank officials have also been threatened with kidnapping.
"We have suspended our operations and work will not resume until Moslem is freed," the bank said on Sunday.
The oil-rich country has been split between a UN-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the east.
The Central Bank is the repository for billions of dollars annually in oil revenue as well as foreign reserves. In 2014, it splintered along the country’s political fault lines.
The bank’s internationally recognised headquarters remain in Tripoli, while an eastern branch allied with commander Khalifa Hifter was set up in Benghazi.
The east-based House of Representatives earlier appointed al-Shukri as a central bank governor in a decision that was not implemented, and the parliament rescinded it this month.
