A Libyan court has condemned two oil sector officials for importing fuel that does not meet Libyan standards last year, sentencing them to 30 months in prison and ordering them to repay 147.5 million Libyan dinars (31 million dollars).
The court also fined the officials 10,000 Libyan dinars and acquitted a third suspect. The Libyan Attorney General noted that one of the officials works for the National Oil Corporation, while the other is employed at the Brega Oil Marketing Company, which is affiliated with the corporation.
The Attorney General stated that the officials received quantities of fuel that did not comply with Libyan standards, abused their power, and mismanaged public funds. Brega Company denied last year that the fuel contained impurities, following a wave of accusations on social media from angry citizens whose car engines were damaged by the fuel.
Oil-rich Libya imposes some of the highest fuel subsidies in the world, leading to widespread smuggling within the country and across its borders. This illegal trade has benefited criminal networks that thrived during years of political and armed conflict since the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi in the NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
