Exclusive: Referring to Adulterated Gasoline… Shriha States That the National Oil Corporation Paid $42 Million of Libyans’ Resources to a Company with a Notorious History of Corruption

Engineer Masoud Shriha, the complainant against the Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Farhat Bengdara, stated in an exclusive statement to our source hat the NOC paid $42 million of Libyan public funds to settle the adulterated gasoline case. He added that the company “Lukoil” has a well-documented history of corruption, as confirmed by multiple reports, including those from the International Center for Investigative Reporting.

Shriha further mentioned that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation accused Lukoil on February 19, 2022, of supplying Nigeria with shipments of adulterated gasoline. The Nigerian institution claimed that Lukoil had delivered fuel containing methanol levels below the Nigerian standard specifications.

He continued by highlighting accusations from Romania’s Anti-Money Laundering, Fraud, and Bribery Unit against Lukoil. The accusations involved bribery, fraud, and illicit activities linked to Lukoil’s refinery in Romania, which allegedly sold non-compliant oil shipments to Hungary. It was confirmed that these shipments contained excessively high chlorine levels.

Shriha added that this is not the first case involving Lukoil and likely won’t be the last. He emphasized that Libya is no exception to dealings with a company focused solely on profit. Despite ongoing investigations, he suggested that the Attorney General could have formed a committee to coordinate with the Swiss prosecutor, as Switzerland is where the company is registered. This could have included freezing payments due to Lukoil until international investigations were completed, as well as launching a local inquiry and issuing a red notice against the individual “Imad Bin Rajab.”

Shriha also pointed out that Lukoil is not the only company with a history of corruption and adulterated gasoline. He referred to the Lebanese company “BB Energy,” which was accused of supplying adulterated gasoline to Lebanon, leading to the imprisonment of 15 individuals. He expressed concern over replacing these corrupt companies with shadowy Emirati firms, whose operations are obscure and untraceable, raising doubts about the integrity of fuel imports. He also noted promises made by the NOC during meetings in London to bring Lukoil and BB Energy back into the Libyan market as suppliers, questioning the motives behind these decisions.

Concluding his statement, Shriha questioned the enthusiasm of Acting Chairman Masoud Al-Maghrabi in urging the Audit Bureau to approve payments due to Lukoil. He asked whether, following investigations and a final court ruling, Al-Maghrabi would show the same zeal in apologizing to citizens and compensating for the damage caused to hundreds of vehicles.