It all started when Ibrahim Jadran, head of the unrecognized Political Bureau of Barga, and his brother Salem Jadran appeared on satellite channels on September 22, 2013,  accusing the General National Congress (GNC) and the government of bribing them in order to lift the siege on the oil ports.

It all started when Ibrahim Jadran, head of the unrecognized Political Bureau of Barga, and his brother Salem Jadran appeared on satellite channels on September 22, 2013,  accusing the General National Congress (GNC) and the government of bribing them in order to lift the siege on the oil ports.

Jadran named Naji Mukhtar, the Energy Minister of the GNC, as the one who paid the amount of 30,000,000 Libyan Dinars (over $23,000,000) in instruments.  Mukhtar denied the accusations at first, claiming that Jadran blackmailed him to lift the siege and he also denied paying the requested money. However, he retracted his statement and admitted giving instruments to Jadran from his own money to solve the crisis and said he had consulted neither the GNC nor the government.

Statement of account

Following the incident, activists on Facebook shared copies of Mukhtar’s bank statement, which shows that an amount of 3.7 million LYD (US $30 million) was deposited on September 22, 2013 by virtue of an instrument dated September 21, 2013 from an account at the main branch of Sahara Bank, with two signatures. The statement also reveals the transfer of 2.5 million LYD (US $20 million) on the same day to Salem Jadran and 3,000 LYD (US $2,400) to Ali FaraJ Hammad, an employee at the bureau of the GNC holding the position of Head of Public Relations at the Energy Committee. The statement, however, did not determine the identity or data of the third party which transferred the amount to Naji Mukhtar who then transferred it in turn to the Jadran brothers.

Escalated issue

Media reporter Issa Abdul Kayoum said: “The attorney general must go public as the case has escalated. He is responsible for calming the public. The Mufti said on the National Libyan TV if the attorney general does not investigate the case, he must resign.”

The public opinion believes the issue to be a bribery case where both the GNC and the government are involved.

Not from state accounts

On Wednesday October 2, 2013, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said the instruments paid for the oil ports closure crisis were not taken from the state accounts and the Audit Bureau was aware of this.

“The case was that a party expressed its intention to sell its weapons and we showed our will to buy under the condition that we pay after receipt. They did not deliver and thus the government did not pay. If someone paid from his own account, it is his problem. We are confident of what we have done and will repeat the same act if necessary. We are keen on maintaining public money,” he added.

However, Zeidan did not explain how they negotiated to buy weapons from Jadran and what evidence or witnesses would prove his claims.

Involved government accounts

In the aftermath, a report of the Anti-Money Laundering Unit of the Central Bank of Libya was leaked on September 24, 2013 and adorned with a top secret label directed to the bank governor. The report revealed that the unit followed and investigated allegations concerning the receipt of 30,000,000 LYD by Salem Jadran as a bribe from Mukhtar in return for lifting the siege on the oil ports.

The report shows that Mukhtar obtained the money from an account at Sahara Bank that belongs to the cabinet – deterrence force contrary to his earlier statement that he paid from his own money and contrary to Zeidan’s statement that the instruments shown were not paid from the government’ account and the person concerned admitted that.

There are many questions that need to be answered, starting with Salem Jadran. Would he give the money back or not? What are the consequences of these transactions with the value of millions? Are the Sahara Bank and the Commerce and Development Bank involved in facilitating the transfer of such amounts without referencing the matter to the concerned party? When would we have a unified banking control system that questions and holds those who receive such amounts of money accountable? Who is entitled to sign on behalf of the deterrence force account affiliated to the cabinet? Who signed the paid instrument?

Attorney general conducts investigation

The official spokesperson of the attorney general Al Saddik Sour said after he received a report from the anti-money laundering unit in the Central Bank of Libya concerning the instruments given to Salem Jadran, the office started investigations which led to the arrest of the Regulation Affairs Secretary in the cabinet bureau and the auditor, pending investigation.

Despite all facts, Zeidan said on October 21, 2013 :“ The government is willing to buy the weapons of Ibrahim Jadran to stop state losses, which have exceeded 6 billion LYD (US $4.8 billion),  due to the halt of exporting oil and to save lives within the government policy to collect weapons from armed groups.”

He also announced that his government “issued a 3.7 million LYD (US $3.7 million) instrument, which is available at the treasury of the cabinet under the supervision of the accounting bureau and no dime has been disbursed yet.”

The obvious question here is how a 3.7 million LYD instrument is still kept at the state treasury while Mukhtar’s bank statement shows that 2.5 million LYD ($2 million) has been transferred to Salem Jadran on account of that instrument?

Ransom, not a bribe

Masoud Kanouni, professor of constitutional law, said the instruments that have been deposited in Ibrahim Jadran’s account “are not bribery, but rather ransom since bribery can only be attributed to a public employee and Jadran is not one. Therefore, the description of the bribe is dismissed.”

He explained that he considers oil to be kidnapped and the kidnapper initiated the demand to receive money. “All countries hold classified deals to solve some of the crises they face and they allocate amounts of money under a classified item. The closest example is what the United States did with the Contra Gangs and Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines.”

Kanouni does not believe that paying these instruments is a crime. It demonstrates a sovereign political act the judiciary refrains from ruling, since sovereignty affairs are out of the hands of the judiciaries all over the world.

He also believes that the contradicting statements of Jadran are dishonorable. “He personally admitted that he is a beginner in politics and that he consulted the Mufti, the Energy Committee of the GNC and the prime ministry.”

Same old corruption

The current interim government has been involved in corruption on several occasions such as the 900 million LYD (US $ 733 million) that were disbursed for the Shields (revolutionary brigades affiliated to the Ministry of Defense) from an exceptional budget adopted by the head of the GNC and implemented by the government, where salaries for a whole year were allocated for the members of the Shields (14,000 LYD each/US $11,400).

The government is accused in this case of wrongful distribution of money as it was performed without verifying whether all members registered at the brigades are actually performing any job. Indeed, some brigades do not exist and some of the money was disbursed to children under 18.

Former Minister of Defense, Usama Juwaily said: “The reason for this spreading of corruption, which has exceeded in size that of the former regime’s, is attributed to distributing the money by the government in cash instead of a clear mechanism by which all data and documentation needed to verify identity is registered electronically.”

Juwaily added that the same mistake was committed when disbursing awards for the rebels, “which the transitional council under Councilor Mustafa Abdul Jalil disbursed millions in cash for rebel leaders to be distributed among the members of their brigades, but none of them has yet been held accountable.”