Exclusive: Ben Ayad and Al-Zaidi Involved… Initial Investigations Reveal Embezzlement of €87 Million from a Subsidiary of the LPTIC

Our exclusive sources revealed the preliminary findings of an investigation conducted by the committees of the Libyan Post, Telecommunications and Information Technology Company regarding documents published yesterday, which indicate that an investment company affiliated with the Holding Telecommunications Company purchased shares in a German weapons company.

The findings point to the involvement of Mohammed Ben Ayad, Chairman of the LPTIC, and Nader Al-Zaidi, appointed by Ben Ayad as the director of Bozvel in Italy, which is owned by the Holding Telecommunications Company. They are accused of orchestrating a deliberate financial fraud to seize company funds in Italy, amounting to approximately €73 million, according to the sources.

It was found that the funds were transferred in installments to purchase unlisted shares in a German company specializing in pistol manufacturing, Heckler & Koch. This was orchestrated by Ben Ayad and Al-Zaidi through a Swiss intermediary company, Tennor International, managed by a single German national named Lars Windhorst. This raised questions about why the shares were not purchased directly but through the intermediary that owned them, suggesting fraudulent stock manipulation that could result in a loss of at least 90% of the invested capital.

The details of this scheme emerged after a new board of directors was appointed for the LPTIC. It was discovered that financial mismanagement in Italy had been ongoing since mid-2024. Consequently, a specialized team was immediately assigned to travel to Italy to meet with officials from the bank and the legal firm overseeing the company’s operations. Their goal was to verify the current status of the funds and determine whether they were still available or had been misappropriated. Based on documents and information obtained, it was confirmed that the funds had indeed been embezzled through fraud.

The findings revealed manipulation of the price-to-book ratio of the invested company’s shares, which stood at 59.7, compared to market peers that ranged between 1.09 and 2.08. This indicated a deliberate inflation of share prices to facilitate the outflow of €70 million from Bozvel’s accounts outside Italy. Furthermore, the average trading volume of the German company’s shares was 490 shares worth €78,400, while its competitors recorded 538,210 shares worth $5.13 million and 166,460 shares worth $6.58 million.

Additionally, Mohammed Ibrahim Ben Ayad ordered the transfer of €17 million from the account of Libyana at UBAE Bank in Rome to Bozvel’s account in Italy without providing any legal documentation to justify the transaction. Nader Al-Zaidi subsequently transferred the amount urgently to the same Swiss intermediary company. This occurred simultaneously with the transition of the new board of directors, resulting in a total misappropriation of €87 million, which is now under investigation by regulatory authorities.

Sources also revealed that corrective measures are now being implemented. The team assigned by the new board of directors is actively coordinating with the bank, the legal firm, and relevant authorities to recover the funds through the sale of the shares. However, initial investigations confirmed that these shares are not actively traded and are not linked to market prices. The concerning factor is that the purchase price was massively inflated, facilitating the fraudulent siphoning of approximately €70 million.

According to the investigation, Nader Al-Zaidi, in his capacity as company director, exploited a bank card issued by a financial services company to access Bozvel’s account at Banca del Fucino, allowing him to use company funds for personal expenses. Additionally, he obtained an official salary decree from the former chairman of the Holding Telecommunications Company, granting him a monthly salary of €13,500.