Sahara Bank Officials Jailed in 53m Dinar Credit Fraud

Former executives and officials at Sahara Bank have been sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to repay 53 million dinars after being found guilty of a fraudulent documentary credits scheme dating back to 2015.

The convictions encompass former bank administrators, documentary credits officials, and operations staff, the Attorney General’s Office announced via Facebook on Monday.

Prosecutors stated that the defendants authorised documentary credits in 2015 to companies not registered in the commercial registry, enabling their representatives to profit from foreign currency trading on the parallel market without delivering the goods for which the funds were intended.

The Tripoli Criminal Court imposed seven-year custodial sentences on the defendants, levied fines of 10,000 dinars each, and ordered the restitution of 53 million dinars.

Sahara Bank, established in 1964, is one of Libya’s leading commercial banks, providing both retail and corporate banking services from its Tripoli headquarters.

The institution has played a significant role in Libya’s financial sector for nearly six decades, making this corruption scandal one of the most significant to rock the country’s banking industry in recent years.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​