NGO Global Witness denounces fraud via Libyan Letters of Credit

On 19 February, the international NGO Global Witness released on its website a report alerting of a massive fraud in Libya via the Letters of Credit system, run by the Central Bank of Libya (CBL). Global Witness published the results of its investigation drawing on interviews with confidential sources, open-source financial information published by the CBL and a database created by the NGO tracing nearly $2.5bn worth of LC transactions between April and July 2020. The investigation has led the NGO to denounce an abuse in the Letter of Credits system, highlighting once again the profound need for institutional reforms in Libya. In this regard, Global Witness has made this data available to support the Libyan civil society in its demand for greater transparency from institutions. Click here to read the full article