Maltese arms dealer told UN Security Council he did not know his military-grade ships would be used by contractors private military in violation of sanctions against Libya.
But James Fenech’s claims lacked credibility and he was found to be in “technical noncompliance” with the UN arms embargo on the war-torn North African country, according to a new report from the United Nations. Security Council.
His charter company provided two boats that evacuated a team of private military agents from Benghazi to Valletta in 2019 after being threatened by Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, the report said.
Fenech and four others are also facing criminal charges in Malta, where he is accused of circumventing EU sanctions by supplying Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) to Libya.
The UN Security Council report, released in March, gives details of the operation carried out amid a civil war as Haftar’s so-called Libyan National Army (LNA) attempted to capture the power.
Project Opus
He detailed how, in June 2019, a group of experts on Libya identified a well-funded private military enterprise operation, called “Project Opus”.
The operation was designed to provide the ANL with a military support package comprising armed assault aircraft, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft, the report said.
It also included an element to “kidnap or fire” individuals considered high-value targets in Libya, the report said.
According to the report, some of the air and sea assault elements of the operation were mounted from Amman, Jordan, and Valletta in June 2019.
But the report says that towards the end of the month a decision was made. evacuate a team of 20 soldiers because Haftar was unimpressed with the aircraft purchased for operations and made threats against the team.
Fenech’s two special forces specification RHIB boats were used for the 350 nautical mile voyage from Benghazi to Valletta.
According to the report, Fenech informed the UN that he had been told that the two ships he had provided would be used to evacuate the oil and gas workers.
‘Probably not aware’
However, the UN panel of experts cast doubts on this explanation.
“Given James Fenech’s known close ties to private military companies under the auspices of his other activities and his knowledge of the people and organizations involved in chartering ships, the committee considers it unlikely that he found this explanation credible ”. the report reads.
The report concludes that Fenech did not abide by the UN resolution on the supply and transfer of military equipment to a private military company supporting an armed group in Libya.
He also pointed out that Fenech had fully cooperated with the panel and readily accommodated all inquiries during the investigation.
“The panel considers that James Fenech probably did not know that the transfer of an unarmed vessel, although conforming to military specifications, would be a failure to comply with sanction measures,” the report said.
The technical non-compliance with which Fenech was slapped is considered a lesser transgression than a willful violation.
The story began when a mysterious Malta-registered boat was discovered in the port of Zuwetina, Libya, some 150 kilometers south of Benghazi.
The incident had raised suspicions that the boat was being used to smuggle people in and out of the country, prompting the Libyan authorities to open an investigation.
At the time, Libyan news sites falsely reported that the boat belonged to the Maltese armed forces while some sections of the Libyan press speculated that it could have been used to transport special forces or intelligence teams in the region.
The story escalated when the ship turned out to be registered with Fenech’s company, Sovereign Charters.
Fenech’s Fieldsports Ltd is a weapons sales company providing military and tactical equipment to the highest bidder.
The company had once partnered with the infamous former US private militia operator Erik Prince in a business that was said to produce and sell ammunition.
A 2007 report from the European Parliament revealed that Malta had, at the time, been the operational base for Prince’s private militia, formerly known as Blackwater.
Prince himself is no stranger to controversy.
According to Politico, the US Department of Justice is currently reviewing allegations that Prince misled Congress during his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
