A Swiss court on Friday ordered the son of former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's oil minister to pay $1.5 million in a corruption case, a decision his lawyer said he may appeal.
The court hearing involving Mohamed Ghanem, the chief executive of a Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank and the son of Shokri Ghanem who drowned in mysterious circumstances in 2012, was a rare international case brought against a member of the Gaddafi-era elite.
The Federal Criminal Court found Ghanem "guilty of passive bribery of foreign public officials" without giving further details.
The plaintiff in the case, Libya's National Oil Corporation, was seeking $1.5 million in compensation but the court dismissed its claim and instead ordered Ghanem pay that amount to the Swiss government. However, he was told to pay the NOC's expenses, estimated at 50,000 Swiss francs ($54,181).
Ghanem had denied the charges and his lawyer disputed the verdict.
"For me it is a judgment based on mistaken findings. And I consider this verdict to be unjust since there is no incident of corruption," Ghanem's lawyer Jean-Marc Carnice said.
He said he would discuss the decision with his client and consider an appeal. Ghanem, 44, is living in Bahrain where he heads the First Energy Bank.
A lawyer for the NOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for the Attorney General's office said she was "satisfied" with the decision and that such convictions were rare.
Norwegian prosecutors in 2012 accused former executives of Norway-based fertiliser maker Yara of paying bribes to officials in India and Libya, including to the family of Shokri Ghanem. A source familiar with the Swiss case said an alleged payment from Yara into Ghanem's Swiss bank account was involved.
Yara acknowledged paying unspecified bribes in 2014 and agreed to pay a fine. In 2016, a Norwegian appeals court upheld a guilty verdict against the company's chief legal officer but acquitted three former executives of bribery. A Yara spokeswoman said the court case was closed and declined to comment further.
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US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
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China |
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UAE |
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Japan |
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Norway |
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Canada |
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Singapore |
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
