undefined | Libyan financier enabled ‘$300m in loans’ for Haftar’s Tripoli offensive

A new investigation by The Sentry reveals that a network of companies linked to Khalifa Haftar helped channel hundreds of millions of dollars into the commander’s 2019‑2020 assault on Tripoli. Libyan businessman Ahmed Gadalla acted as a “key enabler,” securing roughly $300 million in loans from a small Abu Dhabi‑based bank in the United Arab Emirates on behalf of Haftar’s family members. The offensive, which required an estimated $700 million up‑front, was financed in part through payments to Russia’s Wagner Group, the private mercenary outfit that supported Haftar’s forces.

When the offensive collapsed, the loans remained largely unpaid, leaving the Libyan public to shoulder the financial burden while Gadalla escaped accountability. The report says Gadalla has since expanded his influence across eastern Libya’s financial system, exercising control over institutions such as the Bank of Commerce and Development, Wahda Bank and the National Commercial Bank. Through these banks he allegedly facilitated large‑scale letter‑of‑credit fraud, laundered illicit profits and even circulated counterfeit “Russian‑printed” dinars that weakened the national currency.

The investigation also ties Gadalla to illicit arms procurement, linking him to the transfer of military equipment to Sudan in breach of a UN embargo. In July, a 145‑metre container ship operated by Gadalla loaded hundreds of containers of ammunition and armoured vehicles in the UAE before sailing to Benghazi; European authorities later intercepted the vessel off Crete and uncovered the concealed cargo. Highlighting the broader threat posed by financial enablers, the report urges Western governments to impose targeted sanctions on Gadalla and his network to prevent further erosion of Libya’s economic foundations.

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The Sentry (2018), Issue #5, Jeff Lemire, Joshua Cassara & Regen Beredo

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