Saif al-Islam Gaddafi can’t sell his London house

Saif al-Islam, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been unable to sell or rent a villa he owns in the wealthy suburb of Hampstead Garden in London

Saif al-Islam has sought to sell the fancy house for 10,950,000 pounds (About $18 million), but no one has offered to buy it at that price prompting him to instead seek to rent it.

According to information obtained by Al Arabiya, he offered to rent the house for 9,750 pounds (About

he asked the real estate agency in charge of selling the house, which is located 10 kilometers away from central London, to offer it for rent for 9,750 sterling pounds (about $15,700) per month, an amount that can support more than 79 Libyan families.

Saif’s decision to seek renting the property instead of selling it also came amid the ongoing unrest in Libya that aims to unseat his family from rule in Libya.

Some argue that Saif wanted to keep the villa in order to live in it in case he is forced to leave Libya.

According to the real estate agency, Saif al-Islam’s villa is made up of three floors, a master bedroom, and another seven bedrooms.

The villa also has a garden, a swimming pool, and a movie theater in addition to a steam room, two salons, and two dining rooms. The villa is equipped with an elevator and a sophisticated security system.

The 39-year-old Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the eldest of Gaddafi’s children with his second wife, bought the house through the real estate agency Capitana Seas, based in the British Virgin Islands, known for being one of the most prominent tax havens.

Saif al-Islam paid a total of 10 million pounds to live in a neighborhood known to be the residence of several ambassadors and diplomats as well as some of the richest of the U.K. and Europe.

(Translated from the Arabic by Sonia Farid)