Economics
Outlaw Libyan Dollar Traders Thrive While Hiding in Plain Sight
- Illegal currency trade fuels inflation and corruption
- Premier’s unification goal made harder by black market
U.S. dollar bills.
Photographer: Scott Eells/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Amid the clothing and jewelry shops along an upmarket street in Benghazi is another kind of emporium. The wares on display: crisp U.S. dollar notes. In plain view of Libyan police and security forces, the stores are engaged in illegal foreign exchange.
“The black market is always seen as the bad guy, but we just offer goods and services the state has failed to provide,” said 22-year-old Muhsin Ahmed, who works in one of the stores on Dubai Street. “We aren’t breaking the law, because there’s no law to be obeyed.”