On Thursday, Libya's new central bank governor Qassem Azzoz revealed that colonel Muammar Gaddafi had sold 29 tonnes – around 20% – of the country's gold reserves in his final days in power.

Azzoz said the gold was sold to local merchants – at a suspected bargain price – sometime between April and May, as Gaddafi's regime felt the pinch of international sanctions that had frozen billions in assets.

"The gold was liquidated to pay salaries and to have liquidity, in Tripoli in particular," said