Libya oil minister detained in $500m corruption case

The Libyan Prosecutor-General’s office has ordered the detention of the Minister of Oil and Gas in the Government of National Unity, Khalifa Abdul Sadiq, over allegations of financial corruption, according to Libya Al-Ahrar television.

The Prosecutor-General’s Office said that Abdul Sadiq deliberately threatened the corporate accounting officer to force him to approve a document authorising $500 million in spending for a foreign company in violation of the law. The company was not named.

According to the prosecutor, investigations have proven that the minister behaved in a manner “inconsistent with his job duties.”

Abdul Sadiq was appointed acting oil minister after Mohamed Oun was suspended for two months pending an investigation into alleged violations. Oun was later cleared and returned to his post.

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