Fawasil has obtained an official correspondence issued by Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Mari Al-Barassi, addressed to the President of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, dated June 22, 2025. It reveals a dangerous and rapid increase in the volume of public debt over a short period, as this sensitive financial file continues to escalate with no signs of being brought under control.
According to the correspondence, the public debt jumped by approximately 19 billion dinars in just three months, from August to November of last year. The attached data shows that public debt rose from 284 billion dinars in August to about 303 billion dinars currently, reinforcing concerns that it will reach unprecedented levels by the end of the year.
The Central Bank had announced in April 2025 that public debt reached 270 billion dinars, with projections of it hitting 330 billion dinars by the end of the same year — projections that now appear closer to being realized given the accelerated pace of increase during the last quarter of the year.
Despite the seriousness of the figures contained in the Deputy Governor’s correspondence, no official comment has been issued so far by the Central Bank Governor, Nagi Issa, regarding this communication. Meanwhile, available data indicates that the technical and executive file for public debt is being managed directly by Al-Barassi in his capacity as the official responsible for this track within the Bank.
The documents reviewed by Fawasil indicate that the letter was part of an urgent financial proposal aimed at arranging the necessary procedures to deal with the public debt, amidst its inflation and multiple sources. This places the monetary and legislative authorities before an escalating challenge of how to halt this trajectory before it turns into a burden difficult to contain on the state’s public finances.
