Pre-trial detention in Dahra field project investigation
LIBYA – The Public Prosecution has ordered the pre-trial detention of the director of the engineering department at Waha Oil Company, who is also deputy director of the Dahra oilfield rehabilitation project, pending an investigation into acts it said involved abuse of office and endangered the company’s interests and public funds.
$140 million in 2023 and 2024
The Public Prosecution’s media office said the investigation examined the approval of awarding the Dahra field rehabilitation works to a contractor that was paid $140 million in 2023 and 2024, even though it was established in 2022 and, according to the prosecution, lacked the experience required for the works assigned to it.
Incomplete works and prices not reviewed
The prosecution said the contractor had failed to carry out all the works in line with the contracted items, and that the official had approved its prices without reviewing the works or checking them against the prices set out in the contracts. It said these actions reflected a departure from the public interest in approving procedures involving public funds.
Referral to the trial court
It added that the investigator confronted the official with the evidence and ordered his detention pending referral to the trial court, with these proceedings to be joined to a criminal case the prosecution filed last year against a former chairman of Waha Oil Company’s board.
