Malta stopped pick-ups suspected for Libya military conversion

Malta had intercepted a fleet of pick-up vehicles bound for Libya last summer on suspicion the cars could be converted for military use, a UN investigation has revealed.

The fleet consisted of 141 Mitsubishi L200 4X4 vehicles that were shipped in 47 containers aboard the M/V Xin Shanghai. Each container contained three cars.

The ship left Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates on 4 July on its way to Benghazi in Libya with a stopover in Malta.

The incident forms part of a much wider investigation on breaches of UN sanctions submitted to the Security Council by the Panel of Experts on Libya earlier this month.

Benghazi was under the influence of the eastern-based administration responding to General Khalifa Haftar, who was at war with the Government of National Accord, the UN-backed administration based in Tripoli.

The suspect cargo was intercepted by Malta on 29 July 2020 but no formal press statement was issued at the time. Eventually, the cargo was cleared to proceed to Libya.

According to the Panel of Experts, the cargo transfer raised suspicion in Malta because the large quantity of vehicles could easily be converted for military purposes, the bill of lading showed that the shipper, the consignee and the notify parties were all shipping companies and documentation did not provide sufficient details of the recipient of the vehicles.

The invoice was issued by Alwan Cars, a Dubai-based car dealership, to a certain Osama Mohammed, for more than AED6 million equivalent to €1.5 million.

Eventually, negotiations initiated by the vessel owner led to a resale of the cargo to a client in Misurata in Libya, which fell within the area of influence of the GNA. The vehicles were shipped from Malta on 3 September 2020 on board the M/V Contship Cub.

The Panel of Experts found that the UAE breached UN sanctions when it failed to inspect the suspicious cargo that departed from its territory despite reasonable grounds to do so.

A UN-imposed arms embargo prohibits the sale of arms and military equipment to Libya and seeks greater scrutiny of commercial equipment that could be adapted for military use.

The Panel of Experts also investigated the Maltese link to foreign mercenaries that were hired by Haftar’s forces to conduct operations within Libya.

Police charged Mellieħa-based arms dealer James Fenech and other business associates with breaching UN sanctions last year.

Fenech’s company chartered two rigid-hull inflatable Rhibs to the operation, which was abandoned.

Interviewed by the Panel of Experts, Fenech insisted he was unaware of the military implications of the operation, insisting that his company was under the impression the Rhibs were needed in the eventuality that foreign oil workers had to be evacuated from Libya.

The court case against Fenech is ongoing.