3 November 2021

A series of reports and testimonies indicate that Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dabaiba is corrupt. The US and the international community must bring better leadership to Libya.

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While Libyan citizens are hungry for bread and hundreds of thousands are defined as refugees and homeless, one person benefits from the situation: Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dabaiba.

Dabaiba is considered one of the most prominent members of the al-Dabaiba family in Misurata, which manages vast fortunes marred by suspicions of corruption. In June 2017, the Libyan House of Representatives included him in a list of elements and entities accused of terrorism as a financier of armed brigades loyal to and affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Dabaiba, according to a UN report, "bought" the prime minister's job by bribing delegates to vote for him on the selection of a "unity" prime minister. Diplomats who have seen the report alleged that payments running into hundreds of thousands of dollars were offered to delegates to vote for Dabaiba.

Immediately after taking office as prime minister, Abdel Hamid Dabaiba works to transfer billions of dollars of state money to his pocket and for his relatives.

Ibrahim Dabaiba, the prime minister's brother, is responsible for establishing critical contacts with people he wants to appoint in departments with financial or economic responsibilities.

For example, in the field of energy, "General Electricity Company" offered up a procurement deal that was finally contracted with the Egyptian company "Allam" for $250 million. This deal was authorized even though "Allam" had no professional experience in the field of electricity. Finally, after reviewing the costs proposed by "Allam," it was found that the amount proposed exceeded all other offers from the other companies being considered. All evidence has been shared with the responsible executives and regulators, but no action has been taken.

In addition, The Minister of Health Made contact with Abdel Hamid Dabaiba regarding the purchase of the covid vaccines during the COVID pledge. The contract was given to a company in Dubai. Ibrahim Dabaiba had tried to contact a Russian company, which refused to provide commissions for a commercial company that bought vaccines. He received a payment of 52 million UAE dirhams.

Ibrahim Dabaiba then concentrated on establishing a network of communication within the field of infrastructure and oil. This ministry proposed Yassin Al-Triki to the corporation and Murzuq. This company was chosen to acquire the sale of crude oil through companies that Yassin would then offer and instruct him to contact the successor of the Director of Murzuq Company. They also received all the contracts of the Al Zallaf Company, which was headed by Khalifa, the Director of Murzuq Company.

According to local media reports, Yassin threatened the director of marketing in the corporation and obtained several oil shipments. His strategy was to contact the oil-importing companies and organize a meeting with Ibrahim and Abdel Hamid. This meeting was called to demonstrate his good relations with the decision-makers, and Abdel Hamid recommended him and then left the meeting.

The son of Major General Ahmed Aoun was appointed as the manager of Oil Libya, and he is a friend of his son-in-law Al-Karami. Tawfiq Al-Zantani was contacted to be assigned to lead the finance company. Siddiq Abdul Hamid collaborated with him on commercial deals and the late Muhammad Al-Agha before the revolution. This resulted in an annual loss of more than $ 100 million.

Coordination of the infrastructure was carried out by a Turkish partner close to the government and Ibrahim Dabaiba. This was done so that all projects implemented by Turkish companies would have a stake in the deals, knowing that most of the Turkish companies that implement the projects in Libya would have a share as his father headed the administrative body.

Ibrahim Dabaiba contacted Faisal Qarqab and asked him to stay in his position if he cooperated with him and joined his group. Faisal cost the government more than $ 400 million.

And that's not all. Abdel Hamid Ali Ali Mahmoud - the head of the Investment Corporation - took control of the Investment Corporation. He acted under the supervision of Abdel Hamid and Ibrahim in selecting key companies and using part of the corporation's funds for particular purposes, such as buying offerings and distributing these to citizens to support a propaganda campaign for himself.

Through Ibrahim Dabaiba, the telecommunications company has paid $ 55 million to Mohamed Al-Taher Absi, one of his friends. A credit line was opened for him for $ 700 million.

All contracts signed by Abdul Hamid were published on social media sites before their issuance - an agreement was signed with the executing companies - for Ibrahim Dabaiba and Al-Sharkasi. They agreed to receive 12% for each contract - Prices paid are 120% higher than the global market.

Ibrahim's brother-in-law Al-Shaibani - on instructions from Ibrahim Dabaiba - supplied cars for his leadership through a Tunisian company, and their cost was double the agents' price.

This government lacks effective governance, risk, and compliance controls. It is an executive government that has been established to support the needs of a family and not the people of Libya. Corruption and significant fraud are still occurring today.

Dabaiba is campaigning at the expense of the Libyans and with their money for the elections.

The international community, led by the United States, must end Abdel Hamid Dabaiba's celebrations of corruption. Libya deserves a better future. Libya needs stability and leadership to take care of the citizens and the country instead of a corrupt administration that only cares about itself.

Jeoren Van der Vries