The Attorney General’s Office reported yesterday that the investigating authority has ordered the detention of the head of the Materials Department at the Libyan Iron and Steel Company (LISCO) in Misrata.
The prosecutor at the Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office within the Misrata Court of Appeal investigated the company’s contractual procedures with the Austrian company VA INTERTRADING for the supply of fifty thousand metric tons of primary steel bars (3SP).
3SP grade primary steel refers to steel reinforcement bars (rebar) that are made from primary steel billets of the 3SP grade, known for their specific chemical composition, good ductility, and suitability for general structural applications.
Subgrade raw material
The investigation revealed irregularities in the authorization of a disbursement of twenty-six million US dollars and the acceptance of the material supplied from the People’s Republic of China, despite seventy percent of it failing to meet the quality requirements and specifications necessary for rolling the bars.
The Attorney General’s Office reported that this unusual conduct resulted in the seller benefiting from this price in violation of the regulations governing the management of public funds and prevented the company from incorporating the supplied material into its strategic industrial programme.
Consequently, the Public Prosecution ordered the pretrial detention of the company’s Materials Manager pending further investigation and is proceeding to determine the responsibility of the other individuals involved in managing the contract under preliminary investigation.
