The Attorney General’s Office reported yesterday that the Director of the Contracts Department and the Operations Officer at Mellitah Oil and Gas Company have been detained, pending the court case, for an alleged LD 1.8 million contract fraud.
The Attorney General’s Office said the accused abused their authority to manage funds allocated to finance the maintenance contract for the amine activation tower in the Mellitah Industrial Complex.
It reported that the investigator discovered deviations in the financial activity related to the contract. It consisted in authorizing the payment of LD 1.8 million for the benefit of the agency carrying out the rehabilitation work of the tower.
This, with the defendants knowing that these works were already part of the tower maintenance contract, which cost LD 5 million.
Thus, the Office added, they contributed to others obtaining material benefits that are not permitted by legislation, causing serious harm to public funds.
