On Monday, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) in Libya revealed that “unidentified men broke into the commission’s headquarters, impersonating state officials, in an attempt to seize files related to corruption cases.”
In an official statement, the Commission’s employees called on “all judicial and security institutions to take legal and deterrent measures against corrupt individuals.”
They also called on the people to “help maintain the position of the NACC, in its mission to confront the corrupt, who are trying to seize files of corruption cases and reports.”
The commission’s staff affirmed their determination to “continue to uncover corruption and all malfeasances at this critical stage that Libya is going through.”
Notably, the EU’s Mission in Libya said that “transparency and accountability are key to good governance. We stand ready to support Libya in its anti-corruption battle.”
The EU mission added: “It is International Anti-Corruption Day. All countries battle corruption. It has negative impacts on every aspect of society & is intertwined with conflict, instability, jeopardizing social & economic development & undermining democratic institutions & the rule of law.”
In September, the Libyan Audit Bureau issued its annual report for the year 2021. It monitored wholesale violations found in the Government of National Unity (GNU), the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), and the National Oil Corporation (NOC).
The report, which was composed of 18 chapters, monitored the financial situation of the country and the results of reviewing and evaluating the performance of various sectors.
Among the violations of the GNU, large sums of money were spent from the emergency expenses band, unrelated to the nature of the account, such as booking travel tickets and hotel accommodation.
The GNU Cabinet Office spent 12 million Libyan dinars (LYD) to buy watches as gifts for the guests of Prime Minister, Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba. As well as the maintenance and cleaning expenses for Dbaiba’s suite, which amounted to 1.6 million LYD per month.
Millions were spent on supplies, phones, computers, and maintenance of cars and offices, in violation of the regulation of the administrative contract. Flight tickets and hotel reservations were also booked for people who have no relationship with the Cabinet Office.
The report also mentioned numerous violations committed by the former Chairman of the NOC, Mustafa Sanalla. These included the exporting of 16 billion LYD worth of oil shipments, outside the general budget.
It said that the CBL, “operates selectively and without a board of directors, withholding many important documents and information about its true status from audit committees. The balance of foreign currency in the Central Bank allocated to cover the issuance of local currency decreased by $23 billion from the previous year.”
The report pointed out that the Central Bank, “is clearly failing to monitor banks effectively, as evidenced by the rise in cases against the Al-Jumhouria Bank, amounting to 140 LYD million.”
It also pointed out that the CBL has “contributed to banks and financial institutions that were exposed to losses and debts in the tens of millions,” and “there is no vision or clear goals for the bank in investment and foreign contributions.”
The Audit Bureau report has sparked widespread controversy in the country, especially on social media. Many activists expressed their astonishment at the amount of money wasted by the GNU in a single year.