Tripoli based Libyan Prime Minister, Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, has found himself in an embarrassing position after the Attorney General yesterday detained his Acting Oil and Gas Minister Khalifa Abdel Sadig (and his Office Director) over an illegal € 457.6 million payment to a foreign company.
The Attorney General’s Office reported that its Deputy Public Prosecutor investigated the fact that the defendants ‘‘deviated from the requirements of the job entrusted to them’’ and inferred that they ‘‘had adopted behaviour incompatible with job duties’’.
This was represented in ‘‘threatening the Corporate Accounting Officer to induce him to adopt a document authorising the disposal of € 457.6 million for the benefit of a foreign company in violation of legislation’’.
Background – embarrassing for Aldabaiba
It will be recalled that Abdel Sadig was the Deputy Oil and Gas Minister under former Oil and Gas Minister Mohamed Aoun. But when Aoun was suspended by the Administrative Control Authority (ACA) on 25 March this year, Aldabaiba appointed Abdel Sadig as his Acting Oil and Gas Minister.
However, when on 28 May this year the ACA cleared Aoun of any wrongdoing, Aldabaiba refused to reinstate him and kept Abdel Sadig as Acting Oil and Gas Minister. Analysts put his refusal to reinstate Aoun to Aoun’s opposing the controversial NC7 Hamada Oilfield deal with a foreign entity. It was thought that Abdel Sadig was more in-line with Aldabaiba.
Now, to the embarrassment of Aldabaiba, Abdel Sadig has been detained by the Attorney General for illegally disposing of € 457.6 million.
This leaves Aldabaiba in the position of having to find another person to appoint to the very sensitive position of Acting Oil and Gas Minister, and who would be less confrontational to Aldabaiba’s policies.
The detention of Acting Oil and Gas Minister Abdel Sadig will add fuel to the general public perception that corruption is rife amongst the ruling class of Libya.
