Libyan business giant says it was ‘his duty’ to report Azzurra to NTC

Additional reporting by Miriam Dalli

Libya's most prominent entrepreneur Husni Bey has told MaltaToday it was his "duty as a citizen" to ask Libyan authorities to monitor the trade on the Azzurra ferry, which is now in its seventeenth day under arrest at Tripoli's port.

The boat has still not been allowed to leave port and return its crew to Malta, despite contacts between Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and the National Transitional Council, which until yesterday had resulted in the green light for the Azzurra to depart. But the ship's captain has not yet been given his documents to effectively leave the port.

Husni Bey, of the HB Group, told this newspaper it was his duty to "report any suspicious conduct by whoever, hence we asked to monitor the trade on the Azzurra."

In an e-mail, Bey told this newspaper that he welcomes fair competition, but that this had to be accompanied by a mutual respect for trading laws.

"We reject any form of criminality in our, or your hands, including the smuggling of illicit products and subsidised Libyan diesel and fuel oils.

"For you to know what the Azzurra was carrying on her last voyage, please refer to the VAT drawback for the goods it shipped, which are certainly available from the Malta customs."

Bey is the chairman of HB Group, which with some 32 subsidiaries employing around 1,500, makes it easily Libya's largest private holding group. With its exclusive distribution rights for brands such as Procter & Gamble, Sony and Ferrero Rocher, products like Pringles, Nutella, nonalcoholic Becks or Ferrero chocolates are distributed by the HB Group.

In a letter he sent to the Libyan national transitional council, Bey had alleged that the Azzurra, which has been chartered by the Zammit Group, could be carrying smuggled and counterfeit goods - claims that shipping agent Carmelo Dimech has firmly denied to MaltaToday.

Bey alleged that Maltese-registered cars would leave the ship and enter Libya without compliance, avoiding taxes and duties, and distribute their goods.

In his letter to the NTC, Bey alleges: "Those who profit are Maltese traders and smugglers who have even opened markets and shops in Libya. These goods include some that have almost reached their expiry date, they even involve alcoholic beverages and cigarettes, and some of them might not even be suitable for human consumption and could cause serious harm to the consumer. The history of Malta has seen operations of reprinting best-by dates and committing fraud in this respect."

The owner of the Azzurra, Joe Zammit, says the ship is still stuck in Tripoli, because the captain's documents have not yet been returned to him after the Libyan authorities confiscated them.

"At this point we cannot do anything from our end. Only the Maltese government can resolve this issue ... it is between one government and another," an exasperated Joe Zammit told MaltaToday.

But Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has already intervened with the Libyan NTC this week, which has allegedly given the green light for the release of the Moldovan-flagged ship, now in its seventeenth day of arrest.

"It is unbelievable that the ship was held simply because of allegations mentioned in a letter," Zammit said referring to the reports by Husni Bey. "Irrespective of what cargo was being carried, it is not the ship's fault - if a passenger on a plane is found carrying illegal cargo, they arrest the person and not the plane," he added.

Maltese and Libyan businessmen have been using the ferry to transport an estimated €3 million worth of goods every week, which filled most stores around the capital, while trucks and vehicles supplied and stocked warehouses around the Libyan capital.