Swiss launch criminal inquiry over suspected oil smuggling in Libya
Diesel from Libya's state-owned National Oil Cooperation was smuggled to Malta.
Keystone/Str
The Swiss justice authorities have opened criminal proceedings in connection with alleged smuggling of gasoil belonging to a Libyan state-owned company.
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swissinfo.ch/ug
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) on Thursday confirmed that it had launched formal investigations into unknown persons for complicity in pillage.
The OAG said the suspicions had been substantiated in a preliminary investigation, the Keystone-SDA news agency reported on Thursday. The OAG declined to give further information.
“The initiation of proceedings against a Swiss company in such a case is an important step forward in the pursuit of accountability for economic actors who are active in conflict zones,” the NGO Trial InternationalExternal link said.
The move follows a criminal complaint handed in by Trial International against the Swiss-based trading company, Kolmar, two years ago.
‘No involvement’
Kolmar has rejected the allegationsExternal link following the investigation, which Trial International conducted with the Swiss NGO Public Eye to trace the transnational oil trading network originating in Libya.
“Kolmar Group AG has not had any involvement in criminal activities, and in particular, in any smuggling operations. Kolmar Group AG has never been contacted or questioned by law enforcement or any regulatory or judicial authorities in any investigation or inquiries related to the matters raised in the Public Eye/Trial International report,” the company said in 2020.
It is seeking to sue the NGOs for slander.
According to the NGOs, Kolmar allegedly purchased more than 50,000 tonnes of fuel from Libya in 2014 and 2015, which, with the help of armed groups and a series of middlemen, were diverted and stored in Malta.
A previous version of this news stated that the trading company Kolmar was facing a criminal inquiry. This is incorrect. The article was adapted on 19.04.2022.
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