A recent report published by the French outlet Africa Intelligence has sparked widespread controversy across Libyan circles, casting doubt on the integrity of Emad bin Rajab, the former Director of International Marketing at the National Oil Corporation (NOC). The article claimed that Bin Rajab was “convicted in a 2023 corruption case” and subsequently returned to a “controversial role” within the Mediterranean Oil Services Company, referencing his involvement in launching a new branch of the firm in the Principality of Monaco.
However, a scrutiny of official legal records reveals that the French report relied on outdated and legally overturned information. The case in question relates to what was publicly known as the “adulterated fuel” file, where a preliminary ruling was issued by the Tripoli Court of Appeal in June 2023, sentencing some NOC officials, including Bin Rajab, to prison terms.
Crucially, this judgment was entirely annulled in October last year (2024) by the Libyan Supreme Court, the country’s highest judicial authority. The Supreme Court confirmed the invalidity of the accusations against Bin Rajab and his colleagues, fully restoring their legal and professional standing. Therefore, the Africa Intelligence claim that the case “remains before the judiciary” is misleading and contradicts the established legal reality, as no appeal or open legal procedure remains against the individuals concerned.
Notably, the French outlet seemingly relied on secondary sources from inside Libya and on leaks from Audit Bureau reports, completely disregarding the final annulment ruling. This constitutes a severe breach of professional publishing standards, which mandate the verification and updating of information before publication.
The timing of the report coincides with heightened international competition over the Libyan oil sector, and comes amid the NOC Chairman, Masoud Suleiman’s, calls for global firms to resume operations in Libya. Observers suggest that the report’s focus, which also highlighted the Mediterranean Oil Services Company and its Monaco branch, formally announced on October 20, may serve regional and international parties seeking to influence the management of NOC-affiliated companies. This disparity raises the question of whether Africa Intelligence, despite its reputation as an intelligence source on African economic affairs, is occasionally repurposed as a platform for settling political and economic scores, particularly concerning sensitive Libyan dossiers involving overlapping Western and regional corporate interests.