sovereign wealth funds in the world) and the Libyan Oil and Gas Council. On 26 February 2011, the United Nations Security Council issued Resolution 1970 which imposed a travel ban on Mahmudi. As deputy secretary-general of Libya's General People's Committee for Production Affairs, he oversaw the development of the two large infrastructure projects in Libya: Great man-made river project, and Railways project The three-phase river project alone is estimated to total more than US$18.5 billion. Mahmudi answered questions about the cost and benefit of the projects, as follows: "We would like to focus very much in investment projects using this water, basically agriculture and animal stock projects. For this sector it has been allocated already a high percentage of the development funds. For this reason, we are concluding several agreements with foreign companies that are interested in investing in these projects, like for example in the Benghazi plains." Mahmudi has also stated that Libya has amassed more than US$100 billion in a sovereign wealth fund, to benefit future generations after the country's oil reserves (the largest in Africa) have been consumed. Refuge in Tunisia On 21 August 2011, amid the Battle of Tripoli, Mahmudi reportedly fled to Djerba, a resort island in Tunisia. Supporters of the anti-Gaddafi movement attempted to storm the hotel where he was staying, according to the reports, but were unsuccessful. On 22 September 2011, Mahumdi was detained and sentenced to 6 months in jail for illegally entering Tunisia without a visa. An appeals court approved the decision to extradite him to Libya on 8 November. On 1 September 2011, Mahmudi told an Arabic news channel that he supports those fighting against the former Libyan leader. He made the comments to Al Arabiya television which broadcast details in brief headlines. Mahmudi said he was still in Libya and in contact with the National Transitional Council now in charge, Al Arabiya reported. Arrest, extradition, trial, and release On 8 November 2011, it was reported that a Tunisian court ruled that Mahmudi should be extradited to Libya. His lawyer, Mabrouk Korchid, said that "The judge decided to extradite him to Libya, it’s an unfair decision, a political decision. If any harm comes to him in Libya, the Tunisian justice system will be a party to that". On 4 December 2011, Tunisian interim President Foued Mebazaa confirmed that he would not sign a decree to extradite Mahmudi due to fears