A financial corruption case… a scandalous revelation for the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya
A Libyan court has issued a verdict convicting the head of Libya’s mission to the Republic of Uganda and the official in charge of financial affairs in the mission, during the period from 2013 to 2017, the Muslim Brotherhood leader Fawzi Bukatef in connection with a financial corruption case.
The Libyan Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that the Criminal Court in Tripoli ordered a 13-month imprisonment for the head of the mission and a one-year imprisonment for the financial controller, acquitting them of two other charges. According to informed sources cited by the London-based Arab newspaper, the prison term issued by the Tripoli criminal court is the same period that Bukatef spent in pretrial detention, indicating that he will be released in the coming hours or days.
The judicial decision sparked widespread controversy in Libyan circles and on social media regarding the prison term imposed on the former diplomat and whether it is commensurate with the corruption charges against him.
Observers believe that the verdict against Bukatef highlights the involvement of Muslim Brotherhood leaders in corruption cases and their success in capitalizing on internal crises, civil wars, and political and social divisions to achieve significant financial gains and engage in major investments inside and outside the country.
The threads of the case were revealed in October 2022 when the public prosecutor announced the detention of the former head of Libya’s mission to Uganda on charges related to financial corruption.
The conviction of Bukatef is considered a blow to the political Islam trend to which he belongs and to the elites that seized power after the overthrow of the late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.
Bukatef is one of the prominent leaders of political Islam in Libya, a founder of the (Libyan Dawn) militias accused of killing civilians and burning and destroying public facilities during the war to control the capital, Tripoli, in 2014. He is also listed as a terrorist in the House of Representatives since 2017 due to his association with a security company that engineered a military deal with the Turkish company (Sadat) for international defense consultations, through which it obtained contracts to train armed militias in Libya.
Bukatef was among the Muslim Brotherhood leaders who participated in the events of February 2011 and chaired the (Association of Revolutionary Brigades of the Eastern Region) and (February 17 Battalion) before being appointed deputy minister of defense by the transitional council.
