The Libyan Attorney General’s Office announced the detention of the financial controllers of the Libyan Embassy in Prague, from 2011-2020, on charges of financial corruption.
The Office said in a statement that “the Public Prosecution filed a lawsuit against the former officials in charge of controlling the financial affairs of the Libyan Mission in Czechia.” The complaint was based on a report submitted by members of the Audit Bureau, which included results that indicated “the delinquency of the two officials’ behavior.”
“The investigation revealed that the defendants deliberately abused their powers, and collected tens of thousands of foreign currency. They caused serious damage to Libyan public money,” the statement said.
The statement concluded that the Public Prosecution ordered the defendants to be 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.
Earlier this month, 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.”
Al-Sour also 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.
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