Audit Bureau Report: Inflated Revenues of 48.5 Million LYD, Wasted Millions of Euros, and Illegal Bonuses at Afriqiyah Airways

The Audit Bureau’s report revealed significant financial mismanagement at Afriqiyah Airways, whose capital amounts to 1 billion LYD. The company continued paying the chairman a 10,000 LYD bonus, despite the general assembly approving only 5,000 LYD, alongside a conflict of authority between the board and the general manager, with the board intervening in the general manager’s responsibilities.

The airline contracted Canon to prepare financial statements from 2015 to 2020 at 180,000 LYD per year, but 2015 statements were delayed despite paying 162,000 LYD. Revenues from the Hajj season were inflated by 48.5 million LYD, while actual revenues did not exceed 33 million LYD, and 2.5 million USD remained uncollected. The company violated financial regulations by not depositing all revenues daily into commercial banks, keeping 5.3 million LYD of cargo revenues in company vaults.

The report highlighted excessive cash spending on service providers, including 240,120 LYD in cash for staff travel to Bulgaria for maintenance of aircraft 5-A ONJ, with 27% tax applied directly to beneficiaries. Maintenance of four aircraft was neglected, costing an estimated 4.2 million euros, leaving them grounded for over a year. Meanwhile, administrative, travel, and accommodation expenses expanded, and cargo aircraft 600-A300 underwent 3.858 million euros in maintenance despite being out of service since 2019, later put up for sale in November 2024. An older aircraft was purchased instead of investing in newer planes.

The company rented a building on Omar Al-Mukhtar Street for 210,000 LYD per month, paying 3.7 million LYD for 18 months without benefiting from it. A maintenance contract extension was signed for 8.7 million LYD, with payments made without detailed reporting or supervision.

The report also noted overpayments for tickets, visas (5.3 million LYD), and accommodation allowances (4.9 million LYD), all paid in cash, due to unscheduled missions. European airspace debts (EUROCONTROL) of 3.9 million euros incurred fines of 934,300 euros in 2023–2024. Poor cost management reflected miscoordination between financial, operational, and technical departments. Bonuses of 2,000 LYD were paid to employees for tasks under the Holding Company’s remit, violating regulations.

The chairman signed a contract with a lawyer in Germany to defend against Lufthansa Technik, paying 7,000 USD for 20 hours at 350 euros/hour, without legal department approval, breaching Article 221 of the financial regulations.

Further violations included misuse of the Tunis office, underpaid revenues, payments without receipts in Niger, and improper allowances in foreign currency. Payments for an electronic archiving system (8,000 USD loss) and visa issuance (10,000 USD) were made without guarantees or legal authority. Maintenance delays led to 94,508 euros in fines from TAV.

In Turkey, a bank account in GBP was opened for the Istanbul office to cover London office expenses, despite the London office being closed for years. Salaries and allowances were mismanaged, including 700 USD monthly transport allowance despite providing a car valued at 1.235 million TRY, and 100,000 TRY in cash advances without explanation.

In Saudi Arabia, station expenses of 24.7 million LYD did not match financial management records of 41.5 million LYD. No dedicated bank account existed; operations ran through mixed accounts with other airlines. In Egypt, lounge fees of 35,100 LYD were paid without proper documentation, and reconciliation statements were poorly prepared, causing discrepancies in bank balances, including a 4.5 million EGP discrepancy at Canal Bank.