Over $5 billion a year in fuel is leaking out through this illicit trade across Africa and Europe. Russia is exploiting the Libyan route to evade international sanctions imposed due to the invasion of Ukraine.
“The closure of European markets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing Western sanctions drove a sharp uptick in exports for Russian refined petroleum to North Africa, a region with a scarcity of refineries,” explains The Sentry’s Director of Investigations Charles Cater. “This flood of petroleum imports is directly linked to Libya’s thriving fuel-smuggling operations.”
What makes it all possible is an enormous surge in high-level corrupt activities linked to Libya’s leaders, which The Sentry exposed last November in our investigative report “Libya’s Kleptocratic Boom.”
International policy toward Libya has tolerated state-level corruption, despite the heavy toll it takes on the safety and wellbeing of the Libyan people. As this collaborative investigation reveals, international complacency is already generating blowback in the form of new and serious threats to global security, economic markets, and the rule of law.
Sincerely,
Greg Hittelman
Director of Communications |
