to move up and down
Ottawa puts freeze on Saadi Gaddafi’s $1.6M Toronto condo
Federal government lawyers have frozen a $1.6-million penthouse on the Toronto waterfront owned by Saadi Gaddafi, the fugitive son of the late Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
The Department of Justice filed a notice that prevents Mr. Gaddafi, who is the subject of an assets freeze imposed by the United Nations Security Council, from selling the downtown luxury condo.
The government took action after the National Post revealed that Mr. Gaddafi was the registered owner of the suite, which has a view of Lake Ontario and access to a pool, bowling alley and squash, basketball and tennis courts.
Mr. Gaddafi, 38, is wanted on an Interpol warrant issued in September. The Security Council froze his assets in March, describing him as a commander of “military units involved in the repression of demonstrations.” (Photo: Left: Tim Wimborne/Reuters; Right: Tyler Anderson/National Post)
Ottawa asks RCMP to investigate Saadi Gaddafi’s Toronto condo
The federal government said Thursday it has asked the RCMP to look into a $1.6-million Toronto condo owned by the wanted son of the late Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
“This matter has been referred to the RCMP,” Joseph Lavoie, press secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, responded when asked about the downtown property.
The move came after the National Post reported on Thursday that Saadi Gaddafi, who is the subject of a United Nations-imposed assets freeze, is the listed owner of a penthouse on the Toronto waterfront.
The RCMP has not said if it has launched an investigation into whether the sanctions have been violated. The Department of Justice ultimately decides whether properties should be seized.
Saadi Gaddafi owns a $1.6M penthouse in Toronto
The Gaddafi family owns a $1.6-million penthouse apartment in downtown Toronto that has apparently gone unnoticed by the Canadian and Libyan governments, the National Post has learned.
The luxury condo atop the Harbor View Estates building on the Toronto waterfront comes with a view of Lake Ontario and access to a 25-metre swimming pool, squash, basketball and tennis courts and a bowling alley.
Although the United Nations Security Council ordered countries to freeze the Gaddafis’ worldwide assets in response to Libya’s crackdown on demonstrators, Ontario property records still list the condo’s owner as “Saadi Kaddafi.”
New on the market: ‘Casa Kadafi’
Saadi Gaddafi, playboy son of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, was supposed to live in exile on a beachfront property with views of yachts and fishing boats in the Bahia de Banderas and the lights of Puerto Vallarta twinkling in the distance.
The Guadalajara newspaper Mural ran a front-page story last week, saying Gaddafi’s third son and his family were to reside in a three-bedroom, three-bathroom home on a 10-metre-by-40-metre lot with a swimming pool, barbecue pit and access to a dark sand beach littered with beat-up fishing boats.
The property, which the National Post visited and accessed via an unlocked back gate, is listed for sale and was full of leopard-print furnishings still under plastic wrap. Located on a rutted road and fronting a vacant lot overgrown with weeds, the property is known locally as “Casa Estrella,” or the “Star House.” But given the recent spate of unexpected attention, someone instead posted a sheet of paper below the address numbers christening the house “Casa Kadafi.” (Photo: David Agren for National Post)
Gary Clement’s Week in Review for Dec. 4 to 10, 2011
Peter Kent ‘cautiously optimistic’ about climate deal
New on the market: ‘Casa Kadafi’
EU pact fails to calm investors
Border deal challenge? Convincing Canadians their privacy won’t be invaded, U.S. ambassador says
U.S. drone penetrated 250 km into Islamic-republic airspace: Iran
NASA telescope finds first inhabitable ‘super-Earth’ planet outside our solar system
The Canadian woman at the centre of Saadi Gaddafi’s alleged escape plot
Cynthia Vanier billed herself as an expert in First Nations conflict resolution. Now she’s in a Mexican jail, accused of plotting Saadi Gaddafi’s escape from Libya. “I find it hard to fathom,” says one native official.
Saadi Gaddafi planned escape to luxurious home in trendy Punta Mita
After Libyans turned against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in February, his playboy son Saadi made plans to flee to a Mexican beach resort whose celebrity visitors include Kim Kardashian, Charlie Sheen and Lady Gaga, according to those familiar with the scheme.
Although the United Nations had frozen Saadi Gaddafi’s assets and banned him from crossing borders because of his close ties to the Libyan dictatorship, a multi-million-dollar refuge awaited him in Punta Mita, a posh development near Puerto Vallarta on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
Gaddafi’s son under surveillance in Nigeria, may be detained
A U.S. official said Monday that Niger was preparing to detain Saadi Gaddafi, a son of former Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, who was among a group of Libyans fleeing to the African country.
“We have confirmed with the government of Niger that Saadi crossed over, that they are either in the process or have already brought him to the capital of Niamey and intend to detain him,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
Saadi Gaddafi was among 32 members of the fugitive former Libyan leader’s inner circle, who have arrived in Niger since September 2, according to Niger’s Prime Minister. (Photo: Ismail Zetouny/Reuters)
