The Libyan Public Prosecutor's Office announced that the investigation authority ordered the detention of the Minister of Oil and Gas of the interim national unity government and the director of his office, due to a corruption case. The office stated in a statement that "the deputy prosecutor investigated the misconduct of the accused in relation to their entrusted duties and found that they engaged in behavior inconsistent with their job responsibilities. This behavior included threatening the responsible official for company accounting to force him to approve a document allowing the disbursement of 457 million and 600 thousand euros for a foreign company in violation of the regulations."
The statement confirmed that the investigator concluded with the detention of the accused pending the case. However, the statement did not specify the name of the minister involved, especially since the Ministry of Oil and Gas is being managed by the interim appointed agent Khalifa Abdelsadek, while Minister Mohamed Aoun announced that he had suspended his duties as minister since July 3 until further notice.
In a video statement published by the Ministry of Oil and Gas on Facebook, Aoun called on the government leadership to rectify his current situation either by allowing him to perform his duties at the ministry or by dismissing him from his position in accordance with the applicable national laws and regulations. On June 27, the Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah issued a letter appointing agent Khalifa Abdelsadek to continue to manage the Ministry of Oil and Gas, despite Mohamed Aoun's actual presence at the ministry, fully dedicated to managing the sector.
Mohamed Aoun resumed his duties at the ministry on May 28 after being provisionally suspended from work by the Administrative Control Authority on March 25 "for reasons and necessities in the interest of the investigation, based on a memorandum from the Director of the General Investigation Department concerning the facts of case No. 178, which revealed the existence of legal violations."
