UK daily newspaper, the Guardian, has apologized for saying that the former President of Libya's Presidential Council, Fayez al-Sarraj, paid to purchase Vanuatu citizenship in January 2020 while he was still in office, after fact-checking the story.
A report published by the Guardian on 15 July 2021 said that Al-Sarraj was among 2,000 people, including "fugitives, politicians and disgraced businesspeople" who purchased Vanuatu citizenship via a "controversial scheme."
The newspaper removed his name from the article on Thursday, confirming that it had "said wrongly" that Al-Sarraj purchased Vanuatu citizenship in January 2020 while still in office.
"We are happy to set the record straight and we apologize for these errors," the newspaper said, indicating that it had also "erroneously said" that Al-Sarraj had, after leaving office, reportedly left Libya.
Earlier, another British newspaper, The Mirror, apologized to its readers for publishing a story in July 2021 claiming that Al-Sarraj was a minister during the Gaddafi era and that he had purchased Vanuatu citizenship to distance himself from the "notorious past."
The Guardian said it would pay the former Libyan official financial compensation without disclosing the value.