The Libyan Public Prosecution ordered the detention of a former manager of Al Wahda Bank, Zalten branch, on charges of embezzling 338,000 Libyan dinars.
The Media Office of the Attorney General said that “it became clear to the investigator that the bank official abused his powers, and made several transfers to disguise the source of the money.”
The statement added that “the evidence proved that the accused was guilty of embezzling the funds.” The prosecution has decided to remand him in custody.
Notably, the Attorney General, Al-Siddiq Al-Sour 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.
In October, the Attorney General ordered the detention of officials at the Al Wahda Bank in the city of Ajaylat over charges of forgery and financial corruption.
In a statement, the Attorney General’s Office said that this came after a report was submitted by the Head of the Audit Bureau against the Director and Deputy Director of the bank.
According to preliminary investigations, the men had “conducted illegal banking operations on their clients’ accounts, using forged bank cheques.” They also reportedly received “illegal material benefits and violated the disciplinary duties by exceeding the limits of their competencies.”
Thus, the investigator ended up ordering the pretrial detention of the accused.
This comes as “part of the Public Prosecution’s efforts to continue combating corruption, and apprehending perpetrators.”
Al-Sour also ordered the detention of an official of Libya’s Bank of Commerce and Development on charges of embezzlement in October.
The Attorney General’s Office said in a statement that the banking official was accused of embezzling 12 million Libyan dinars. “The accused falsified customer account data, and then transferred it to the accounts of other people who cooperate with him,” the statement added.
According to the statement, the Anti-Corruption Prosecution at the Benghazi Court of Appeals has investigated that case, and concluded that the accused has forged e-bank accounts.