BATTLE FOR WORLD / SPUTNIK NEWS | July 1, 2019: As the article highlights Belgium's mishandling of Muammar Gaddafi's frozen funds, it turns out that the British government has been collecting taxes on the former head of state's blocked UK assets.

Lawmakers in both Britain and US have discussed the legality of London's move and shared opinions on whether the money will ever be returned to the Libyan people.

Neither the citizens of Libya nor the late Muammar Gaddafi have access to the £12 billion in assets the former head of state had in the UK, but Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs has collected around £17 million in taxes on the assets since 2016, said the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee's latest report.

The question arises, asking: is it legal to take money in taxes from the frozen assets of another state?

"In my view there is no legality in that", said American lawyer and peace activist Dan Kovalik. "This is money that properly belongs to the Libyan people. In fact, what they are doing amounts to theft from the Libyan people, who really could use the money after the NATO bombing of Libya. They left Libya a shattered country. The West has done nothing to help it rebuild. And then to steal assets like that... is not only illegal but it's immoral". And said "This was nothing but old-fashioned bank robbery". "I don't think there was ever an intention to give that money back."

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