Thursday, June 5, 2025
LibyaReview
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Economy
  • Sport
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Economy
  • Sport
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
LibyaReview
No Result
View All Result
Home Libya

Investigation Reveals Corruption Involving Dbaiba’ Family

February 28, 2022
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

An investigation was conducted by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and its partners, on the prominent Dbaiba family in Libya. It drew on leaked data from inside Swiss banking giant, Credit Suisse, and discovered previously unknown accounts belonging to Ali Ibrahim Dbaiba, the cousin of Libyan Prime Minister, Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba.

Three other businessmen who benefited from the public contracting system, were involved in the case.

“Billions of dollars given out through public contracts had gone missing. Investigators said the money appeared to have been stolen by the former head of Libya’s Organization for the Development of Administrative Centres (ODAC), Ali Ibrahim Dbaiba, and his family,” the OCCRP said.

It noted that these clients, all of whom were later implicated in corruption investigations, were involved at all levels of the public construction sector. This ranged from the awarding of contracts, to the ownership of companies that benefited from government spending. One was a Libyan bank in Tunisia, allegedly used in a graft scheme involving letters of credit issued for ODAC contracts.

Their Credit Suisse accounts were worth tens of millions of dollars while they were open — in some cases, during the same years their owners were working with Dbaiba to loot ODAC. All remained open after the 2011 Libyan uprising brought the country’s development system under renewed scrutiny, and after Dbaiba was placed on a national sanctions list.

ODAC and the public contracting process were part of a broader system of corruption, which was used to siphon off Libya’s vast oil wealth during Gaddafi’s four decades in power. A 2014 report by anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International found that his regime likely stole around US$61 billion.

Last year Dbaiba’s brother-in-law and cousin, Abdel-Hamid became Libya’s interim Prime Minister. The PM was previously the head of state-owned development contractor LIDCO, which was part of ODAC’s contracting system. After Gaddafi’s fall, both Dbaiba’s were sanctioned for corruption by Libya’s new transitional government.

Since assuming the Premiership, Abdel-Hamid reportedly become embroiled in a dispute with the Libyan Parliament over his budget demands for new infrastructure projects. His government is now working on scrapping the sanctions list.

“There are … justified fears that cronies associated with [Abdel-Hamid] Dbaiba would use investment projects to siphon off profits through commissions or other methods,” wrote Wolfram Lacher, a senior associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, in a recent paper.

“After all, Dbaiba represents a network that is notorious for doing just that,” he added.

Ali Dbaiba, born in 1945, worked as a geography teacher before becoming mayor of the coastal city of Misrata. He became the chairman of ODAC in 1989, and held this position until the 2011 uprising.

The Libyan government in 2012 added Ali to a list of sanctioned officials, whose assets should be frozen. The chaos of Libya’s civil war meant that this was never properly enforced, and his assets appear to have been left untouched.

Ali was also the subject of an Interpol red notice in 2014, after Libya’s Attorney General launched a criminal investigation into him, but this was removed the following year.

During his time at the helm of ODAC, Dbaiba used a vast network of bank accounts and offshore companies, registered in Cyprus and elsewhere, to channel money out of the country, a 2018 OCCRP investigation found. Libya’s authorities said that he awarded tenders to companies he secretly owned or controlled, and gave advance payments for contracts that were never implemented.

OCCRP’s previous investigation showed that Ali held at least two Credit Suisse accounts in 1998, which contained millions of dollars’ worth of transactions.

The newly leaked banking data shows that Ali also opened another account with the Swiss bank in August 1990, remaining open until August 2012, a year after the fall of Gaddafi. At its maximum balance, in November 2009, it held 176,527 Swiss francs ($175,769), the data shows.

Both Ali, and his son were named in a request for international assistance that Libya sent to Scotland in 2013, as it sought help tracing looted state funds. According to a report by ‘The Guardian’ newspaper, their luxury properties in the United Kingdom are worth over £25 million pounds.

  • Jerusalem Post: Libyan PM Meets Mossad Chief in Jordan
  • What do we know about Libya’s new Cabinet?
  • Bread Crisis in Libya Continues. CBL Rejects New Letters of Credit for Flour
  • Gang Arrested for Credit Card Fraud in Libyan Capital
  • Libya’s High State Council: We Should Cancel all Contracts with French Companies
Tags: Abdulhamid DbaibaDbaibaDbaiba FamilylibyaOrganized CrimePrime Minister
Next Post

Libya Evacuates Families & Students From Ukraine

POPULAR CATEGORIES

  • Home
  • Libya
  • Economy
  • Sport
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion

MUST READ

Libyan Pilgrim Dies in Makkah During Hajj

IOM: 300 Migrants Returned to Libya in a Week

Trump Bans Libyan Nationals from Entering US, Citing Terror Risks

Will Libya’s Parliament Ratify Maritime Deal with Turkey?

Greece Seeks Migration Deal with Eastern Libya to Halt Boat Departures

UN Set to Launch Nationwide Survey on Libya’s Political Future

EDITOR PICKS

UN Calls for Eid Calm as Tripoli Faces Tense Ceasefire

Gaza Aid Ship Rescues Migrants Fleeing Libya

EU Reaffirms Support for Libyans’ Right to Clean Water

LCW: Libya Sees Deadliest Month in 2025 for Civilians & Migrants

CBL: Libya’s Revenues Reach 49.4 Billion Dinars in 5 Months

Will Libya’s Parliament Ratify Maritime Deal with Turkey?

  • Home
  • Libya
  • Economy
  • Sport
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion

© 2024 LR

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Economy
  • Sport
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion

© 2024 LR