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The 2018 Audit Bureau report reveals grave violations

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“Sada” economic newpaper received a copy of the 2018 Audit Bureau report.

The report, which monitors the Libyan government’s expenditures from January to December 2018, included shocking violations at the level of the financial field, the exaggeration in the payment of bonuses, and the payment of sums of money on behalf of independent financial authorities.

The report was also filled with procedures for disbursements without the availability of full documentary support to prove the amount as the absence of a receipt.

Among the examples that illustrate these excesses are the checks obtained by the Al-Ahram Al-Akbar for General Supplies Company, where the financial value reached 1,437,775 dinars, without a permission for receipt.

Among the explicit violations of the concealed Audit Bureau report is the disbursement of sums of money without being approved by the disbursement order, as Al-Surour Company for Supply Commitments obtained a financial value of 2,800,000 dinars, in violation of Article 18 of the Budget.

Hotel reservations and restaurant bills have also involved millions in exchange violations, as the Bureau’s report monitored the repeated disbursement of a financial value for a bill presented by a restaurant with a value of 34.000 dinars, which had been paid in favor of a hotel without any right, according to the expression of the Audit Bureau’s report.

Exaggeration in expenses on subsistence and exceeding the value of Resolution No. 406 of 2018, which was based on the disbursement process for more than three times, as it stipulated covering financial requirements related to cooked, fresh and dry supplies of 30 million dinars within a year only.

Among the examples set forth in the report is the spending of a financial pledge three times in succession to the Director of the Financial Department, with a total value of more than 667.000 dinars, within a year without specifying the purpose.

The report also recorded huge exaggerations in the prices of importing cars, as Al-Barq Company imported a Toyota with a value of nearly half a million without specifying the date of manufacture, not recording the data of the recipient, and not indicating the car’s features.

Among the observations recorded in the report, money was disbursed to people as bonuses for non-workers with varying values ​​reaching 3 thousand dinars per month, and some of these bonuses were disbursed to non-Libyan people, and the report listed the names of some people who received these monthly bonuses.

The report listed the names of ministers in the Libyan government who obtained an illegal financial pledge, considering it as an expense, and classifying it on independent budgets.

This comes amid increasing protests and demonstrations that extend in western, eastern and southern Libya, demanding accountability for the corrupt and providing basic services such as electricity, water and liquidity.

Legal expert says small traders in Libya are at a disadvantage

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During “Flusna”, a television programme broadcasted on WTV channel and Tabadul Platform, the legal expert Taha Baara confirmed that the leading cause of fraud operations is the suspension of remittances to small traders, the adoption of “a list method” in opening letters of credit, as well as the existence of a ‘parallel’ or “black market.”

” This makes an offender out of traders… Traders are always at a disadvantage… They find themselves committing offences as soon as they purchase foreign exchange from the black market.” he said.

Victims of fraud operations arrest fraudster after a long search

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During “Flusna”, a television program broadcasted on WTV channel and Tabadul Platform, a number of merchants revealed that they have been exposed to fraud operations during business dealings for the purchase of foodstuffs from a company located in Turkey.

Abu Bakr Al-Sherif: “we fell victims of 1.630 million dinars fraud”

The merchant Abu Bakr Al-Sherif confirmed during his televised interview for Libyan WTV channel and Tabadul Platform that he was exposed to a scam operation after buying food containers made up of 11 Nutella containers.

He also confirmed that the stages of the process of concluding the trade were very ordinary and did not encumber any suspicion of illegal behaviors.


“There were no signs of fraud as we have obtained all the necessary documents after going to Mersin city, in Turkey… The phasing of delivery was safe at first.”

Al-Sherif discovered that the persons he dealt with were using fake identities, pretending that one of them is Palestinian and the other is Turkish.

Following a lengthy search process, Al-Sherif discovered another Egyptian victim of a similar fraud operation. This latter led him to the Fraudster, who turned out to be a Libyan citizen residing in Turkey for a long time.

Al-Sherif demanded a great lawyer to be appointed in order to review the investigations on the case and take their rights, pointing out that 14 people had been subjected to a fraud operation of an amount of 1.630 million dinars, apart from a number of other people who couldn’t move to Turkey to get back on the case.

Muhammad Shulak: “CMA company prevented me from entering its headquarters“

Muhammad Shulak, a trader who was subjected to a similar fraud operation, confirmed during “Flusna” that the company he dealt with (which is called the “CMA”) has prevented him from entering its headquarters after he has realized the fraud operation.

“There was no question about the existence of this company.” He said, adding that he obtained the offer via the internet.

Muhammad Al-Shaikh: “The fraudster was arrested due to our personal efforts”

Similar to Shulak, Muhammad Al-Sheikh had also obtained the offer via the internet. Al-Sheikh said he remitted to the company Headquarters in Istanbul, describing it as a respectable place.

He said that he concluded a contract concerning 4 containers before discovering the fraud operation, pointing out that he chased the fraudster, who had been using a fake identity for 6 months.

“After a long search, we arrested him along with other Lebanese people due to our personal efforts.” He said.

Libyan Prime Minister Sarraj to Resign Soon— Bloomberg

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Bloomberg said that Libya’s Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj plans to announce his resignation soon but will stay on in a caretaker capacity through negotiations for a new government in Geneva next month, according to officials familiar with his thinking.

With Turkey’s help, the internationally recognized premier, whose government controls only parts of western Libya, in June quashed a yearlong offensive on the capital by eastern commander Khalifa Haftar. But Tripoli has since descended into political infighting, and Sarraj has also faced pressure from a protest movement against corruption and poor services.

By announcing his resignation, he would relieve some of the pressure on himself while setting the stage for his exit after the Geneva talks, two officials said on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential conversations. The rival sides will be asked to agree on a new presidential council structure that unifies the country’s dueling administrations and schedule elections.

The move is expected to be welcomed by Haftar’s regional backers, including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, while facilitating the talks to unite the conflict-riven North African nation that sits atop the continent’s largest oil reserves.

Haftar himself has increasingly given way politically to Aguileh Salah, the head of parliament who’s proposed a political initiative to unify the country’s institutions and is now leading political talks for the eastern camp, Arab and Western diplomats said.

Williams welcomes IRINI’s efforts at enforcing the arms embargo in Libya

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The Acting UN envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams, met Monday with Eunavfor Med “IRINI Operation” commander, admiral Agostini and welcomed recent efforts at enforcing the arms embargo in Libya after intercepting a UAE vessel bringing military support for Khalifa Haftar in Libya in violation of the UN arms embargo.

Williams recalled Berlin participants’ commitments to respect relevant UN Resolutions and urged them to fulfill their responsibilities.

The mission noted that jet fuel is considered military material by the UN, which has authorized the EU force to seize weapons and halt weapons-transporting ships bound for Libya, adding that the vessel was redirected to a European port for further investigation.

UN: Boat capsizes near Libya, migrants presumed dead

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The U.N. migration agency said Tuesday that a boat carrying migrants bound for Europe capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya, leaving at least two dozen people drowned or missing and presumed dead, the latest shipwreck off the North African country.

Safa Msehli, the spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration said the coast guard retrieved two bodies, and survivors reported 22 others were missing and presumed dead.

Cracks in Libya’s governing alliance threaten fragile peace

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When the pinnacle of Libya’s UN-backed Authorities of Nationwide Accord suspended the inside minister from his duties on the finish of August, militias in Tripoli celebrated by firing weapons within the air, according to the Financial Times.

However two days later, when Fathi Bashagha flew again to town after coming back from a go to to Turkey, rival militias gave him a hero’s welcome and paraded in convoys by the streets.

The daily newspaper reported that an underneath stress from the UN, Turkey and the opposite international powers that again the GNA, Mr Bashagha and Fayez al-Sarraj, who heads the federal government, patched up their variations and the minister was reinstated.

However the public rift and scenes of rival armed teams on the streets spotlight the fragility of the alliance that underpins the GNA and threatens efforts to forge peace within the divided north African oil exporter, analysts and diplomats warn.

Mr Bashagha, who sought to rein in militias after fighting between armed groups rocked Tripoli in 2018, angered Mr Sarraj by stating publicly that the civilian police under his command would protect demonstrators. That led to his suspension and a flurry of appointments by Mr Sarraj aimed at placating Misurata by giving positions and powers to others from the city. While the reinstatement of Mr Bashagha has closed the breach for now, Wolfram Lacher, senior associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said the cracks were likely to reopen. “These are struggles over ministerial appointments and over control of turf in the security landscape of Tripoli. They were already there before Haftar’s offensive, when Bashagha was at loggerheads with militias in Tripoli.”

The Financial Times said that the splits in the GNA come at a dangerous moment as the warring parties have built up their forces around the Haftar-held strategic city of Sirte in the centre of Libya’s coastline. Since the ceasefire, the general’s forces have already fired Grad rockets at GNA positions in the region in an apparent bid to provoke a confrontation, diplomats say.

Oil Futures Crude slides amid resuming Libyan exports

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S&P Global Platts reported that  crude oil futures lost ground in the morning European trading session September 14, amid the prospect of exports from Libya and demand shuttering in the US.

At 10:36 GMT, ICE Brent November crude futures were down 25 cents from Sept. 11’s settle at $39.58/b, while the NYMEX October light sweet crude contract was 23 cents lower at $37.10.

The Libyan National Army, the military group that imposed an eight-month oil blockade on the OPEC producer, has promised to reopen the country’s energy shipments following talks with other Libyan groups, the US embassy in Tripoli said in a statement September 12.

The announcement comes ahead of a meeting on Sept. 17 of the OPEC and non-OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee led by Saudi Arabia and Russia.