Leaked UN report reveals Haftar family is smuggling oil and arms in Libya

Leaked UN report reveals Haftar family is smuggling oil and arms in Libya Oscar Rickett on Tue, 03/31/2026 - 15:56 Panel of experts' report seen by MEE says Arkenu, Libya's first privately owned oil company, is 'indirectly controlled' by Saddam Haftar Khalifa Haftar with two of his sons, including Saddam, in a picture published on the Libyan National Army's Facebook page (Facebook) Off A leaked UN panel of experts' report obtained by Middle East Eye has revealed details of the Haftar family’s connections to oil, fuel and arms smuggling networks in eastern Libya. The 288-page report, scheduled to be released on 9 April, links eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and his son Saddam’s Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) to illicit oil smuggling, capital flight, the management of financial and criminal networks, and the provision of arms to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF). As previously reported by Middle East Eye and noted by the UN report, Subul al-Salam, a Libyan militia affiliated with Haftar’s forces, has facilitated the supply of weapons and other goods to the RSF, the paramilitary force that is backed by the United Arab Emirates and has been widely accused of genocide in Darfur. The report also uncovered an expansion in illicit fuel smuggling operations from the port of Benghazi to other ports in eastern Libya, along with the development of smuggling infrastructure in both Benghazi port and Ras Lanuf port. It reveals, too, an array of activity and shared enterprise in the oil sector between the Haftars’ eastern Libyan administration and its rival, the internationally recognised Government of National Unity in Tripoli. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The UN panel’s investigations found that armed groups linked to Ibrahim Dbeibah and Saddam Haftar “have developed and honed their capability to exert control over the National Oil Corporation (NOC) at every level of the decision-making process”. Dbeibah is a national security adviser to his uncle, Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. Libya is highly dependent on oil, with hydrocarbons making up more than 90 percent of the state’s income. In 2025, the panel said, the amount of oil revenue entering Libya reached $18.78bn, almost $10bn less than it should have been, based on expected revenues. The NOC's budget was used, the report said, as a cover to channel funds to networks linked to the armed groups, undermining the company's independence. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Arkenu Oil Company The UN report concluded that Libya’s first private oil company, Arkenu, is “indirectly controlled” by Saddam Haftar “through his proxies, in particular Rafat al-Abbar”, a former deputy oil minister in Libya’s internationally recognised government. According to the report, from October 2024 to February 2026, Arkenu actively diverted over $3bn in oil revenue to bank accounts outside Libya. Between May and December 2024, Arkenu, which was established the year before, exported approximately 7.6m barrels of oil, with an estimated value of around $600m, diverting part of the revenue away from the Central Bank of Libya. 'Armed groups [linked to] Ibrahim Dbeibah and Saddam Haftar have developed and honed their capability to exert control over the National Oil Corporation at every level of the decision-making process' – UN report The contractual relationship between Arkenu and Libya’s NOC was “not in accordance with the relevant Libyan laws”, the panel said. Taxes that were owed were not paid to the Libyan state and the key terms of the contract were “not implemented by Arkenu”. The report identifies Abbar and Belqacem Shengeer, a former member of the NOC’s board of directors, as key figures for Saddam Haftar, the 35-year-old deputy to his father. Abbar is described as having played an “instrumental role” in the NOC, ensuring that, “at key levels of the institution, pressure was exerted to further the interests of Saddam Haftar and his close associates”. The former deputy oil minister reportedly forged a “shadow decision-making structure” within Libya’s national oil company “by leveraging his alliance with Saddam Haftar”. In turn, Khalifa’s favoured son “relied primarily” on Abbar to “exercise his influence and advance his interests within the oil sector”. Shengeer, the report states, “was the technical architect behind the creation of Arkenu”. Despite formally representing the NOC, based in Tripoli along with Libya’s internationally recognised government, he lives in Benghazi, where Haftar’s eastern government is based. Arkenu exported large quantities of crude oil by, the report said, relying on subsidiaries of well-established and large traders, such as the UAE’s BGN Energy. Elsewhere, the UN panel reports on LAAF training exercises in Belarus, the presentation of Eye weapons systems to Khalifa and Saddam Haftar by Pakistan’s chief of army staff, and the well-established air bridge from the UAE to areas under the control of the Haftars. The report confirms that the LAAF “was involved in coordinating overland fuel smuggling operations, which were routed through ports and delivery logistics under their control”. Inside Libya News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0