The Libyan Attorney General, Al-Siddiq Al-Sour announced in a statement that a “senior official at the Libyan Embassy in Ukraine has been arrested on corruption charges.”
The statement added that the accused is facing charges of “abusing power, fraud, and damage to public funds, including the illegal spending of €800,000 euros during the COVID-19 pandemic. As well as using forged medical documents to receive funding.”
Last week, Al-Sour ordered the detention of “an impersonator of the Health Attaché at the Libyan Embassy in Italy” on charges of “forging documents and transferring funds to the account of medical institutions in Italy.”
The Attorney General’s Office stated that the Deputy Public Prosecution Office initiated an investigation regarding corruption in the payment of medical treatment in Italy, prior to 2017.
The statement indicated that the man issued a declaration to two medical institutions in Italy, with a debt by the Libyan state estimated at €9.149 million euro. “The accused then transferred two million euros to the account of two Italian hospitals, causing serious harm to Libya’s public money,” it added. The man confessed to the charges and was remanded in custody, pending investigation.
Notably, the Attorney General is leading a campaign against corruption in the Libyan state institutions. Dozens of officials and diplomats were arrested in connection with embezzlement, corruption, and abuse of power. Libyan banking officials were also arrested over embezzlement charges.
Several Members of the Libyan Parliament called on the Attorney General and the Audit Bureau, to disclose the names of 124 officials involved in corruption cases.
The Attorney General’s Office said earlier that a senior official in the former Government of National Accord (GNA) was arrested on corruption charges, estimated at 1.925 million Libyan dinars.
MP, Abdel-Moneim Al-Urfi called on the Attorney General to reveal the names of the 124 accused, who have been recently included in corruption reports. He stressed that the Libyan people “have the right to know who betrayed their trust, and stole their money.”