Authorities believe Malta-based companies may have been involved in providing weapons, tactical supplies and perhaps even private military contractors to players involved in the raging Libyan civil war. 

Sources involved in monitoring the island’s national security told Times of Malta that a network of Malta-based operators and their foreign partners have been the subject of ongoing attention for several months.

The investigations also involve foreign counterparts of the Maltese authorities which include the police’s counter-terrorism unit and entities involved in overseeing national security and compliance with international sanctions. 

Sources privy to the investigations said they believe Maltese and foreign business partners had supplied private militia and equipment to forces linked to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar over the last few months.

The situation in Libya has been deteriorating since military commander General Haftar launched an offensive on Tripoli in April 2019.

After months of fighting, forces aligned with the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli, have been scrambling to hold the capital.

According to the United Nations, more than 280 civilians and about 2,000 fighters have been killed and 146,000 Libyans displaced.

Last Friday, Maltese arms dealer James Fenech was among five men charged in court with violating EU sanctions on Libya. 

Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) forces during an attack on the militias of General Khalifa Haftar outside Tripoli earlier this month.

According to the prosecution, Fenech, 41, allegedly used two military-grade rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) to circumvent international sanc­tions and transport private contractors into war-torn Libya without notifying the relevant authorities. 

In a statement yesterday, Fenech’s chartering company Sovereign Charters Limited denied any involvement in money laundering or military dealings. 

Interest in Fenech’s chartering activities began when a mysterious Malta-registered boat found in the harbour of Zwetina, Libya, some 150 kilometres south of Benghazi last August, raised suspicion that it was being used to sneak people in and out of the country, prompting the Libyan authorities to launch an investigation.

Meanwhile, Sovereign Charters yesterday said that in June 2019 it had been approached by a very reputable and globally known company operating in the UAE to charter two of its vessels for 90 days.

The vessels were contracted on a purely ‘bare boat’ charter basis, meaning no crew, and the RIHBS were to be used only for evacuation purposes, the company said. 

“Crucially, the two vessels left Malta carrying all the necessary permits both from Malta Customs as well as from the Police Immigration unit,” the Sovereign Charters statement read. 

Upon arrival in Malta, all 21 of the client’s evacuated management and personnel – mostly holding British, French, American, Australian and South African passports – were admitted according to all applicable Maltese laws and procedures, it contended.

“We flatly and categorically deny all the allegations that this charter was in any way connected to money laundering or military purposes.

“We shall look forward to clear our names and our company’s under oath in court,” the company said.