RCMP allege two former UN employees in Montreal attempted to sell military drones in Libya

By Jacob Serebrin, The Canadian Press on April 23, 2024.

Mahmud Mohamed Elsuwaye Sayeh is shown in an RCMP handout photo. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say two former United Nations employees have been charged in Montreal with taking part in a conspiracy to illegally sell Chinese-made drones and other military equipment to Libya. THE CANADIAN PRESS /HO-RCMP **MANDATORY CREDIT**

MONTREAL — Two men who formerly worked for the United Nations in Montreal are facing criminal charges for their alleged role in a conspiracy to sell Chinese attack drones to a Libyan armed group and sanction oil to China.

Fathi Ben Ahmed Mhaouek, 61, appeared in court in Montreal on Tuesday afternoon after being arrested earlier in the day. He has been charged with one count of conspiracy.

Police and prosecutors say the alleged conspiracy took place between 2018 and 2021 while he worked at the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency headquartered in Montreal.

“The conspiracy consisted of offering for sale oil from Libya originating from entities sanctioned by the United Nations. The oil was destined for the People’s Republic of China,” federal prosecutor Marie-Ève ​​Moore told reporters at the Montreal courthouse.

Moore said Mhaouek’s alleged co-conspirator, Mahmud Mohamed Elsuwaye Sayeh, 37, who also worked at ICAO at the time of the alleged crimes, has been charged with two counts of conspiracy. One relates to the alleged plan to sell Libyan oil to China, the other concerned a plan to sell Chinese military equipment, including drones, to a Libyan group.

Sayeh remains on the run. An INTERPOL Red Notice — a warning sent to police around the world — and a Canada-wide arrest warrant have been issued, Moore said.

A third man, James Kuang Chi Wan, is named in the charging document as a co-conspirator; However, prosecutors declined to comment on why he has not been charged.

RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Charles Poirier said the alleged conspiracy involved the use of shell companies to sell Chinese military equipment – including large drones capable of carrying multiple missiles – to a Libyan armed group, in violation of UN sanctions related to the Libyan civil war. A federal regulation gives the sanctions the force of law in Canada.

Poirier said the regulation prohibits anyone in Canada from supplying military equipment to any of the factions that fought in the Libyan conflict or helping to finance those groups. The alleged conspiracy, he said, would have benefited General Khalifa Hiftar, the leader of one of the two main groups in the conflict, which ended in 2020.

“The second part of this plan was to export Libyan oil to China,” Poirier said. “So at the time, the oil fields were under the control of General Khalifa Hiftar and the plan was to sell millions of barrels of crude oil to China without anyone knowing about it.”

Hiftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army fought against Libya’s UN-backed government and occupied much of the country’s east during the civil war; he remains a powerful figure in that region.

Poirier said investigators have no evidence that military equipment or crude oil ever reached their alleged final destinations, but he said if they had, Mhaouek and Sayeh could have been earning several million dollars a month in commissions.

“The theory behind the motivation is mainly financial,” he said. However, it would also have benefited China by allowing it to covertly support Hiftar’s faction and by giving the country excellent access to Libyan oil.

Poirier said the investigation began in 2022 after the RCMP received what he described as “credible intelligence.” Mhaouek and Sayeh enjoyed diplomatic immunity because of their work for the UN, he said, adding that their immunity had to be lifted by ICAO before the two men could be charged.

He said the U.N. agency, which sets international aviation standards, had cooperated with the police investigation. “There is no indication that ICAO was aware of the conspiracy until contacted by us,” Poirier said.

Mhaouek, a Canadian citizen, will return to court on Friday for a bail hearing.

Poirier said police do not know the current location of Sayeh, a Libyan national. “He could be in Libya, but with the level of influence and network these guys had at ICAO, he could be anywhere,” Poirier said.

The U.N. civil aviation agency said in an emailed statement that it is committed to upholding Canadian laws, U.N. standards and its own code of ethics.

“ICAO is fully cooperating with the RCMP investigation into the individuals involved in the complaint who left the organization several years ago,” the agency said. “ICAO strongly condemns any actions by individuals that conflict with the values ​​of the organization.”

The agency declined to comment further due to the ongoing legal proceedings.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2024.

– With files from The Associated Press.

23
-22