Financial Crime World

Title: UN Report Exposes Complex Money Laundering Scheme in “Project Opus” - Libyan Mercenary Deal

Introduction

The United Nations (UN) released a groundbreaking report in March 2023, revealing the intricate details of a clandestine operation to provide Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar with military assistance. Code-named “Project Opus,” this sordid tale involves helicopters, aircraft, cyber capabilities, and an intelligence fusion cell, all funded through a labyrinthine web of money laundering and shell companies.

Overview of Project Opus

  • Initiated in summer 2019
  • Proposed by private security firms, led by Erik Prince
  • Included helicopters, attack and surveillance aircraft, cyber capabilities, and an intelligence fusion cell

Attempts at Implementation

Project Opus A

  • Black Zodiac boat carrying mercenaries raised suspicions
  • Arrival at a Maltese port
  • Haftar received unintended military arms
  • Fleet forced to flee Libya

Project Opus B

  • Pilatus PC-6 aircraft’s complex ownership history
  • Originally owned by Prince’s firm Xe/Greystone
  • Sold through shell companies
  • Ended up in Libya under Lancaster 6 DMCC

Cover Story and Concealment

  • Geophysical survey explanation
  • No planned survey, demonstrating effort to conceal

Extent of Mercenary Activity in Libya

  • UN report names numerous other mercenary groups
  • International and domestic laws against mercenaryism and war crimes

Importance of Confronting Money Laundering

  • Facilitates funding for illegal activities, including mercenaryism
  • Global effort required to disrupt illicit financial flows

Steps the United States Can Take

  1. Implementation of anti-money laundering reforms in the FY2021 NDAA
  2. Increased support for federal efforts to counter corruption and white-collar crime
  3. Encouraging weaker links in the global anti-money laundering community
  4. Prioritizing countering mercenary activity and arms trafficking

Conclusion

The “Project Opus” case is just one example of the use of mercenaries in Libya, but it highlights the need to address the illegal financing and concealment tactics employed in such operations. The international community must acknowledge mercenary activities as criminal and take collective action to disrupt illicit financial flows.

For further analysis on the linkages of corruption, state fragility, illicit finance, and US national security, refer to Jodi Vittori, a nonresident scholar in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.