The Attorney General’s Office reported yesterday that customs officials at the Libyan Tunisian Ras Jadair border crossing and the Al-Yaqeen bank were detained for over LD 1.2 billion letters of credit fraud.
It reported that seventeen customs guard officers, including the head of the Ras Jadair customs centre, the heads of the Audit and Procedures Department committed documentary forgery through customs documents linked to documentary credits completed within the Al-Yaqeen Bank.
Fake imports for foreign exchange gains
They had recorded customs data stating that seven commercial companies had imported goods into the country, contrary to the truth. By doing so, they contributed to enabling company owners to benefit from foreign exchange equivalent to ninety-one million dinars. And they collect revenues from trading in foreign exchange in the parallel market.
Al-Yaqeen bank was issuing defective credits
The investigation body, the Attorney General’s Office reported, also took note of the abuse contained in the Financial Information Unit’s reports related to the examination of operations at Al-Yaqeen Bank. They were able to prove the contribution of the bank’s business leaders in facilitating illicit gain incidents for the owners of forty-nine companies, with a value exceeding twenty million dollars. The experts’ examination also showed a defect in credits amounting to one billion and two hundred million dollars, which were issued in violation of the system of granting documentary credits.
The investigator ended up ordering the imprisonment of the head of the Ras Jadeer customs centre, the two heads of the Review and Procedures Department, and four officers from the Customs Guard.
He also decided to imprison: the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Yaqeen Bank, his deputy, seven of those responsible for managing compliance affairs, banking operations, external operations, credits and review at the bank.
