OFAC acts to disrupt Libya-Europe oil smuggling network

On 26 February, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (‘OFAC’) announced that it had sanctioned six individuals, 24 entities, and seven vessels pursuant to Executive Order 13726 ‘for threatening the peace, security, or stability of Libya through the illicit production, refining, brokering, sale, purchase, or export of Libyan oil or for being owned or controlled by designated persons.’

OFAC said: ‘Oil smuggling undermines Libya’s sovereignty, fuels the black market and contributes to further instability in the region while robbing the population of resources that are rightly theirs. Illicit exploitation of Libyan oil is condemned by United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 2146 (2014) as modified by 2362 (2017).’

The individuals who have been sanctioned are from Malta, Libya and Egypt. OFAC said that in 2016, Maltese nationals Darren and Gordon Debono ‘formed an unofficial consortium for illicit fuel smuggling from Zuwarah, Libya, to Malta and Italy in an operation that reportedly earned the group over 30 million euros. Libyan national Fahmi Ben Khalifa managed the Libya side of the fuel smuggling operation, and Maltese national Rodrick Grech transported the Libya-originated fuel to European ports where it was sold using falsified fuel certificates, reportedly forged by Egyptian-Maltese citizen Ahmed Ibrahim Hassan Arafa, to obfuscate the fuel’s origin. Additionally, Maltese national Terence Micallef operated a Malta-based shell company to sell the smuggled petroleum products in Europe.’

The companies are registered in Malta, Italy and Libya.

‘Treasury is taking action to expose and end fuel smuggling and other illicit activities by those who are exploiting Libyan oil, petroleum products, and other natural resources for their own personal gain,’ said Sigal Mandelker, US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

See:
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20180226.aspx