Skip to main content

Author: LS

Audit Bureau releases its 2019 Annual Report

Written by LS on . Posted in News. No Comments on Audit Bureau releases its 2019 Annual Report

Libya’s Tripoli-based Audit Bureau launched its 2019 Annual Report. 

The report said the Presidential Council approved a number of extraordinary financial arrangements in 2019 to use the remaining foreign currency purchase transactions’ money from 2018, adding that the arrangements were implemented in 2019 and 2020, except for the 5-million dinars development arrangements.

The report highlighted that the money allocated for the Head of the Presidential Council Fayez Al-Sarraj to attend the UN General Assembly reached 700.000 dinars and they were transferred to the Libyan UN Mission in New York, while Al-Sarraj’s spending for attending the fifth OPEC meeting amounted to 150.00 dinars sent to Libya’s embassy in Guinea.

The report referred to hotel bookings and first-class flights’ tickets for the Presidential Council employees and their families as well as people who have no links to the Presidential Council for medical treatment purposes abroad.

The Presidential Council’s financial commitments of 2016, 2017, and 2018 reached 12.633.710 dinars, while the Central Bank of Libya made violations in 2019 in terms of monetary supply that saw a hike in prices and a drop in dinars value to foreign currency, let alone the cost of printing dinar banknotes (from £5 to 9 million) for every billion dinars.

According to the report, Taher El-Sonni was receiving a salary as a full-time advisor to Sarraj, although he was also receiving another salary for his work with the Libyan delegation in Cairo, even though he was in Tripoli all the time before moving New York.

Mpreover, GNA’s Ministry of Defence spent 50 million LYD a year on clothing and hospitality for its members.

2019 revenues reached 60 billion dinars and expenditures 46.4 billion as sovereign revenues plummeted by 59% due to ill-judgment in foreign currency selling plans as well as oil resources’ management.

There was also a financial improvement in 2018 and 2019, with the first surplus since the deteriorating between 2013 and 2017.

“The Central Bank of Libya gave 11 billion dinars to the Interim Government in eastern Libya, which has not yet made a final financial disclosure to the state.” The report states.

The report added that the number of public sector employee reached 2.36 million in 2019 – 37% of the Libyan population.

 It also uncovered a series of irregularities and financial corruption at the Ministry of Interior of the Government of National Accord (GNA). It stated that the ministry’s total expenditures in 2019 amounted to 3.7 billion dinars.

In its report, the Bureau indicated that these expenditures were not approved or ratified, and that the ministry spent 60 million dinars, under miscellaneous expenses in 2018. As well as other expenses valued at 3.32 million dinars in the same year.

The report stated that the MoI was granted doubled budgetary allocations in 2019, in comparison with its allocations during the two previous years. It also noted that the ministry registered 869 million dinars as expenditures in 2016, while in 2019 it reached 2.4 billion dinars, an increase of 267%.

Libya: Sanalla vows to up production

Written by LS on . Posted in News. No Comments on Libya: Sanalla vows to up production

Libya’s state energy company said it would increase oil production and vowed to remain politically neutral as a unity government seeks to stabilize the war-torn OPEC member, according to Bloomberg.

The National Oil Corporation “stands ready to work with the new government, while also keeping out of politics,” Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “It’s very important to keep the NOC apolitical. It’s not a political chip for anyone.”

The new government is meant to lead the North African country until December, when elections are scheduled. Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Dbeibah, a businessman, is trying to restore the oil and gas ministry and appoint an minister, a position which hasn’t been held for years — effectively leaving it in the hands of Sanalla.

Tabadul Channel the media sponsor of the Second Scientific conference on Non-oil Exports

Written by LS on . Posted in News. No Comments on Tabadul Channel the media sponsor of the Second Scientific conference on Non-oil Exports

 Regulated and supervised by Libya’s Tripoli Ministry of Economy and Industry, the Libyan Export Promotion Centre (LEPC) is organizing the Second Scientific conference on Non-oil Exports that will be held from 16-17 March, in Tripoli.

Tabadul will be the media sponsor of this conference, which will host a large number of professors, researchers, exporters and businessmen.

During the conference, the attendees will discuss research papers on non-oil exports, highlight Libya’s success stories in this field, and review the state’s efforts to help exporters.

Tunisian-Libyan Economic Forum, Sfax 11 March

Written by LS on . Posted in News. No Comments on Tunisian-Libyan Economic Forum, Sfax 11 March

At the invitation of the president of thhe Tunisian-African Business Council (TABC), Anis Jaziri, the head of the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce, Mohamed Gaddah, will participate  in the Libyan-Tunisian Businessmen Forum on 11 March 2021, in Sfax, with the participation of more than 200 Tunisian businessmen and 100 Libyan businessmen from different sectors, in addition to a number of ministers, deputy ministers, heads of public institutions and heads of chambers of commerce from various Libyan regions.

The forum will be held under the slogan, “The Forum of Hope and Challenge to Build an Integrated Economy”.

Among the most prominent goals of the forum, the Tunisian-Libyan Business Council reported, is to restore confidence, clarify the investment climate, develop trade exchange between Tunisia and Libya, reduce the logistical problems arising from the Covid-19 crisis and support bilateral cooperation in light of a difficult regional situation that requires concerted efforts.

TIJ: How much does it cost to become Prime Minister of Libya?

Written by LS on . Posted in News. No Comments on TIJ: How much does it cost to become Prime Minister of Libya?

On 5 February Abdul Hamid Dabaiba was chosen Prime Minister designate of Libya in a UN- brokered caucus marred by allegations of bribery.

The Investigative Journal (TIJ) said in a report that Abdul Hamid’s cousin and brother in law, Ali Dabaiba, head of Libyan state infrastructure contracting body ODAC from 1989 till 2011, is alleged to have paid off some of the 75 electors with sums as high as $500,000.

Many Libyans have asked on Twitter and Facebook why the United Nations body UNSMIL (UN Support Mission to Libya) chose Ali Dabaiba as a delegate in the first place. One of the Gaddafi era figures most associated with corruption, Ali has been the subject of numerous articles in major publications.

An OCCRP investigation noted, “The Tripoli-based Libyan authorities believe that Dabaiba may have misappropriated between $6 and $7 billion […] using such techniques as charging excessive “commissions” and awarding tenders to companies that were linked to him or that he secretly owned outright”

Abdul Hamid’s election surprised many, as the 61 -year old has an opaque curriculum vitae. Press accounts often refer to him as a businessman but it is not clear what business he ever engaged in.

After allegedly acquiring an engineering degree in Canada, there are decades of blank years including the whole of the 1990s before he became head of Libyan state infrastructure board LIDCO in 2006 – a position that was created for him.

In addition, as TIJ has detailed, Abdul Hamid appears to have engaged in contracting fraud for the purpose of obtaining kickbacks from the Turkish companies who received his lavish contracts. But Abdul Hamid is a favorite of Erdogan – whom he met secretly just a day or two after his selection – and former colonial power Turkey has great influence in Libya now. As Libyan policy analyst Mohamed Eljarh was quoted as saying, “The perception or reality is that Dbeibah is intimately linked to Ankara on a number of levels and that many of his business interests go through Turkey.”

Now TIJ has seen documents from Abdul Hamid’s “lost decade” of the 1990s that show a $107,000 commission paid to Ali Dabaiba in conspiracy with Abdul Hamid Dabaiba. It is perhaps the best single example of the corruption of Ali Dabaiba – and apparently the only evidence to emerge to date of Abdul Hamid’s business activity before LIDCO.

In the course of ODAC business Ali contracted with office furniture manufacturers. One of them was Italian office furniture manufacturer Faram spa (the equivalent of a public limited company in Britain.) Faram still exists today.

A letter of authorization dated 11 March 1994 from Faram spa to “Abdulhameed Eldubeba” states that commission will be paid at a rate of 15% for orders by ODAC. It specifies a bank account at Credit Suisse in Geneva and references the banker responsible for the account.

The agreement is stated as valid until 31 December 1995.

Two weeks later on 28 March 1994 Faram spa sent USD $107,000 to the Credit Suisse bank account specified. But contrary to the natural assumption that this account belongs to Abdul Hamid, the bank statement shows that this account belongs to Ali Dabaiba, using a Cyprus address. (In the 1990s Dabaiba had a mini empire in Cyprus. As OCCRP reported, Dabaiba
“may have used at least 16 bank accounts and seven companies in Cyprus in the alleged crimes.”)

Thus Abdul Hamid was conspiring with Ali and Faram to conceal that a kickback was being paid to the head of ODAC, Ali Dabaiba.

But the $107,000 paid to the personal account of Ali was just the tip of the iceberg.

Internal paperwork for a Lichtenstein company controlled at least in part by Ali Dabaiba shows 5.2 billion Italian lira in payments by Faram to the Liechtenstein entity spanning the years 1996 to 1998. These commissions were paid at a rate of 20%. There were around 1600-1800 lira to the US dollar in 1998. So this amounts to around $3 million in commissions paid by Faram to the Liechtenstein company . Multiplying this by the hundreds of contracts bestowed by Ali Dabaiba over the years and you have an idea why he could afford to buy the Libyan premiership for his cousin.

The question for Libyans of course, is whether these are the sorts of men who ought to be leading their country. And the question is also who is ruling Libya? is it Abdul Hamid? is it Ali? is it Turkey? or is it cash?

Libya: HoR members call for delaying Sirte session

Written by LS on . Posted in News. No Comments on Libya: HoR members call for delaying Sirte session

42 members of the House of Representatives (HoR) have called for postponing the Sirte session of granting confidence to the Government of National Unity (GNU) of Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, pointing out that conducting a vote of confidence only is a constitutional violation.

“We should also look into the UN Panel of Experts’ report on alleged bribes as it is important to refute them in public to keep the political process transparent and GNU away from local and international extortion,” HoR members said.

Britain set to cut aid to several countries including Libya

Written by LS on . Posted in News. No Comments on Britain set to cut aid to several countries including Libya

The British newspaper ‘The Guardian’, confirmed that the United Kingdom is set to reduce the aid package it provides to Libya by 63%, indicating that a leaked report obtained by the newspaper revealed that the British Foreign Office had discussed, over the past three weeks, the reduction of assistance provided by it to poorer countries and those in conflict or war.

Chatham House investigates Libya’s oversease investments and battles over their control

Written by LS on . Posted in News. No Comments on Chatham House investigates Libya’s oversease investments and battles over their control

Attention is once again focused on Libya as the political process being convened by the United Nations (UN) has agreed the appointment of a new interim government to see Libya through to elections at the end of 2021, according to a report published by Chatham House, an independent policy institute based in London..

But, while the ongoing failure of governance in Libya continues to make international headlines, the impact it leaves on the management of Libyan state assets overseas receives minimal coverage – even though this impact is highly significant for the people of Libya.

Since 2006, the country’s investments in global markets have been made principally through a sovereign wealth fund – the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA). And yet, after all this time, it remains unclear precisely what the total value of the LIA’s assets are, even to its current leadership.  The commonly-cited estimate of the LIA’s value is $67 billion.

Problems of structure and governance have persisted as the LIA struggles to escape the legacy of the Muammar Gaddafi regime. The LIA was formed not just as a means of allocating the windfall from the sale of oil and gas for the benefit of future generations, but also as a tool for distributing patronage and leveraging political influence.

Since the 2011 revolution, the LIA has been a battleground. Interests entrenched from the Gaddafi era have sought to preserve their stake while new actors work to wrestle control of parts of the organization. And these Libyan battles have been exported to courtrooms around the world – from London to the Cayman Islands – while the UN asset freeze on the LIA does not in reality cover all of its structure, meaning some elements remain up for grabs.

Examining these dynamics, and the story of how the LIA came to prominence, provides extraordinary insight into what has happened to the wealth of the Libyan population, as well as highlighting what external states – in whose markets the LIA still engages – should be doing about it.

In 1977, the Italian car giant Fiat was struggling. On the hunt for investment it obtained $400m from Libya, the country’s first such major investment. The resulting shares in Fiat were held by the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company (LAFICO). But as Fiat’s fortunes improved in the 1980s, it reportedly feared that the Libyan investment could be an impediment to entering the US market because of allegations at the time of Libyan support for international terrorism.

Libya sold its shares in 1986 for $3 billion, a huge profit, which was placed in a new investment vehicle, the Long-Term Portfolio (LTP). But sinking global oil prices and the sanctions on Libya following the 1988 Lockerbie incident made similar international forays difficult. Although the OilInvest Group emerged in 1988 after the Libyan state purchased Tamoil – a fuel refining and distribution company – the imposition of sanctions in 1992 saw Tamoil’s corporate structure amended to place the majority of its shareholding into non-Libyan ownership, seemingly to insulate the company from the impact of the sanctions.

More was possible in African markets, to which Gaddafi pivoted to further his political influence, and a stream of investments overseen by Bashir Saleh – known as ‘Gaddafi’s banker’ – were made before being formalized as the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio (LAIP) in 2006. By now a significant surplus was being generated, but Libya’s budget remained under strict control as oil prices were high and running costs low – so the ‘mujanib’, essentially meaning ‘leftovers’, needed investing somewhere.

At the time, the Libyan market had limited absorptive capacity and the rather frugal leadership of Libya’s existing sovereign institutions were cautious. But a younger group of leaders, including individuals such as former Libyan prime minister Shukri Ghanem, argued for the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund. In 2006, a resolution within Libya’s then legislature, the General Peoples Committee (GPC), created the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) as an investment department for regular and alternative investments, with around $8 billion of funds.

Record shipment of cannabis resin bound for Libya seized in Niger

Written by LS on . Posted in News. No Comments on Record shipment of cannabis resin bound for Libya seized in Niger

Niger police have seized a record 17 tonnes of cannabis resin worth around $37 million in a shipment originating in Lebanon and bound for Libya, the spokesman for the West African nation’s anti-drugs trafficking agency said on Friday.

The drugs had passed through the Togolese port of Lome before being transported by truck north to the Nigerien capital Niamey, over 1,000 km (621 miles) and two border crossings away, said spokesman Adili Toro.