The United States has imposed new sanctions on three individuals and an entity based in Malta for allegedly smuggling fuel from and drugs to Libya, the Treasury Department said in a statement on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th August, 2020) The United States has imposed new sanctions on three individuals and an entity based in Malta for allegedly smuggling fuel from and drugs to Libya, the Treasury Department said in a statement on Thursday.
"Today, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control took action against a network of smugglers contributing to instability in Libya. OFAC designated Libyan national Faysal al-Wadi, operator of the vessel Maraya; two associates, Musbah Mohamad M Wadi and Nourddin Milood M Musbah; and the Malta-based company, Alwefaq Ltd, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13726. Additionally, the vessel Maraya was identified as blocked property," the statement said.
The Treasury Department said Wadi worked with a network of contacts in North Africa and southern Europe to smuggle fuel from, and illicit drugs through, Libya to Malta.
"Competition for control of smuggling routes, oil facilities, and transport nodes is a key driver of conflict in Libya and deprives the Libyan people of economic resources. Wadi's illicit trafficking operation transported drugs between the Libyan port of Zuwarah and Hurd's Bank, just outside Malta's territorial waters," the statement said.
The Treasury Department noted that Hurd's Bank is a well-known geographic transfer location for illicit maritime transactions. Wadi also smuggled drugs and Libyan fuel into Malta itself and kept all official documentation clear of his name, while being the primary organizer of smuggling operations using the vessel Maraya, the statement added.
