Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against a network of smugglers contributing to instability in Libya. OFAC designated Libyan national Faysal al-Wadi (Wadi), operator of the vessel Maraya; two associates, Musbah Mohamad M Wadi (Musbah) and Nourddin Milood M Musbah (Nourddin); and the Malta-based company, Alwefaq Ltd, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13726. Additionally, the vessel Maraya was identified as blocked property.
“Faysal al-Wadi and his associates have smuggled fuel from Libya and used Libya as a transit zone to smuggle illicit drugs,” said Deputy Secretary Justin G. Muzinich. “The United States is committed to exposing illicit networks exploiting Libya’s resources for their own profit while hurting the Libyan people.”
Wadi has worked with a network of contacts in North Africa and southern Europe to smuggle fuel from, and illicit drugs through, Libya to Malta.
Competition for control of smuggling routes, oil facilities, and transport nodes is a key driver of conflict in Libya and deprives the Libyan people of economic resources. Wadi’s illicit trafficking operation transported drugs between the Libyan port of Zuwarah and Hurd’s Bank, just outside Malta’s territorial waters.
Hurd’s Bank is a well-known geographic transfer location for illicit maritime transactions. Wadi also smuggled drugs and Libyan fuel into Malta itself. Wadi has kept all official documentation clear of his name, while being the primary organizer of smuggling operations using the vessel Maraya.