The legal office of the Islamic Call Society spoke exclusively to Sada Economic Newspaper, commenting on statements published by media personality Ahmed Al-Senussi regarding First Mall, known as the Daawa Mall. It said that if reports circulating about the opening of letters of credit worth $250 million linked to First Mall are confirmed, the mall’s file will have become a serious hotbed of corruption involving Abubakr Al-Trabelsi and the Qaddad family.
The office added that Abubakr Al-Trabelsi had signed a long-term contract with the Qaddad family to complete and operate the mall. Completion works were valued at more than LYD 65 million, to be recovered over several years through rental payments. This was despite the Society having submitted a request to the Administrative Control Authority in 2024 to complete the project for less than LYD 27 million, an amount the authority considered excessive at the time.
According to the office, it is aware of the influence wielded by the parties involved in the case and their encroachment on state institutions, whether Abubakr Al-Trabelsi, who is close to the interior minister, or the Qaddad family. However, this will not prevent the office from demanding an investigation into those impersonating others or falsely claiming authority. The office said it had expected the Qaddad family to support charitable and religious outreach projects rather than take them over and mislead public opinion on its platforms by claiming that First Mall was one of its projects, despite the mall belonging to the Society and being more than 95% complete.
The office also said that First Mall was supposed to be an investment asset generating revenue for the Society and helping it meet its financial obligations, while the Society’s employees have been waiting for their salaries for months. It added that the responsible authorities must act and fulfil their duties, provided they are not beholden to influential individuals.
The office called on the Office of the Prosecutor General to open a comprehensive investigation into the issues raised concerning the First Mall contract, verify the movement of funds and the contracts and transactions associated with the project, and hold accountable anyone found responsible for financial violations.
It also called on the Central Bank of Libya to review the letters of credit and foreign-currency transfers associated with the companies responsible for completing and managing the project, and to verify reports that companies linked to the Qaddad family had obtained letters of credit worth millions of dollars in connection with the mall.
The office further called on the Administrative Control Authority and the Audit Bureau to reopen and review the mall’s file, starting from the Society’s request for funding to complete the project. This review should compare the 2024 cost estimates with the costs subsequently charged to the project and the work actually carried out, while examining total expenditure, funding sources, the mechanism for recovering costs, and the duration of the contract.
