The Tripoli Criminal Court sentenced the Head of the Libyan political mission to the Kingdom of Belgium and Luxembourg, ambassador Amal Al-Jarary - who is a Libyan-US citizen, to 7 years in prison after convicting her of misappropriating public funds, and fined her twice the embezzled amount.
The Office of the Attorney General, said on Thursday that the Tripoli Criminal Court convicted Al-Jarary, indicating that she intentionally contributed to the commission of the incident of achieving illegal material benefits and unlawfully seizing public funds as well as causing harm to Libyan public interest.
The Office pointed out that the court ruled in its last session, on Thursday, to convict Al-Jarary and deprived her of her civil rights for the duration of the sentence.
Last October, the Attorney General's Office placed Al-Jarary under investigation, accusing her of embezzling public funds. At that time, the Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah ordered her suspension, asking the Presidential Council to start procedures of sacking her.
The story began when the Belgian Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation at that time into the Libyan ambassador, accusing her of making financial transfers, described as "suspicious", to a company owned by her son.
According to Belgian media, the matter concerns the transfer of 550,000 euros from the embassy’s account to a German company owned by her son, through a third company, in order to purchase magnetic resonance imaging devices. But the money did not reach its destination, which raised suspicions of embezzlement, and required the intervention of the Belgian Public Prosecutor.
