"It has become commonplace to depict the LIA at this early stage of its development as a bunch of oil-rich buffoons, corrupt, uninformed and unaccountable, but the true picture was far more nuanced than that. From the outset, there were senior, experienced people at the LIA, among them Mohammed Layas, the LIA’s first chairman, who had been chairman and general manager of the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank; and Hatim Gheriani, who became CIO in April 2007. Gheriani was an experienced ex-Commerzbank investment banker who had worked with Layas and has since gone on to HSBC. There were also highly regarded external advisers.
http://www.euromoney.com/Article/3181331/The-battle-for-the-Libyan-Investment-Authority.html?single=true
"The LIA had some of the best procedures and principles, but was frequently unable to follow them through due to lack of strength and depth in its team and resources. For example, its advisory board and council had the likes of Lord Rothschild and other expert investors on it, and it used outside consultants like Mercer. But actual implementation never occurred."
Douglas Hansen-Luke, now managing director of HLD Partners,
Full article: http://www.euromoney.com/Article/3181331/The-battle-for-the-Libyan-Investment-Authority.html
LIA's legal claim against Goldman Sachs for $1.2bn