Libya Insights@libyainsights

Libya Insights @libyainsights Aug 26, 2026

In this exposé, we investigate how rival Libyan power networks allegedly bypass the country’s democratic transition while siphoning its sovereign wealth. From a multi-billion-dollar POS laundering scheme and counterfeit dinars to fuel smuggling and legal loopholes, the investigation reveals a shadow economy sustaining Libya’s division—and questions whether its economic recovery is merely a “zombie rentier” illusion.

29:33

Ep. 15 Aug 26, 2026

The Two Families Stripping Libya Bare: Inside the Shadow Economy Dividing the State

Libya Insights @libyainsights Aug 26, 2026

In this exposé, we uncover Libya’s booming tobacco black market, where nearly three-quarters of cigarettes consumed are smuggled “cheap whites.” Weak tax enforcement, deceptive shipping, and fuel-for-cigarette exchanges allow militias and criminal networks to generate massive profits. The investigation reveals how cigarette smuggling has become a vital source of illicit funding, fueling Libya’s shadow economy and regional instability.

30:45

Ep. 14 Aug 26, 2026

Libya’s Tobacco Black Market: How Cigarette Smuggling Fuels Militias and Regional Instability

Libya Insights @libyainsights Aug 26, 2026

In this exposé, we uncover Libya’s entrenched war economy, where armed groups control state institutions, obstruct elections, and siphon billions through illicit oil exports. Despite the arms embargo, transnational networks continue to supply weapons, while a system of impunity protects powerful actors. The investigation reveals how stolen wealth and unchecked militias perpetuate instability and threaten Libya’s democratic transition and regional security.

35:17

Ep. 13 Aug 26, 2026

Libya - Hijacked State & Stolen Wealth

Libya Insights @libyainsights May 5, 2026

Discover how **SS7 and Diameter protocols**—the backbone of global telecom—are exploited by surveillance vendors and governments to **track, spy, and intercept** communications undetected. From **Circles’ spy tech** to **Ofcom’s bans**, learn why SMS authentication fails and how encryption could save privacy. A deep dive into invisible threats.

43:55

Ep. 12 May 5, 2026

The Hidden Network: Legacy Signaling and Mass Mobile Tracking

Libya Insights @libyainsights Apr 16, 2026

In this exposé, we uncover Libya’s massive identity forgery scandal—more than 3,500 people and 300,000 files tied to fraudulent citizenship. From hacked registries to ISIS operatives with legitimate papers, the investigation reveals tech vulnerabilities, deadly stakes for whistleblowers, and the erosion of Libya’s passport and democracy.

38:30

Ep. 11 Apr 16, 2026

How Libya Systematically Manufactured Fake Citizens

Libya Insights @libyainsights Apr 11, 2026

Libya Crimes Watch’s 2025 report reveals a sharp rise in human rights abuses by both the Government of National Unity and the Libyan Arab Armed Forces. It verified 859 cases of arbitrary detention, disappearances, and killings. The report links these crimes to political and military fragmentation and calls for international accountability as national courts fail to protect migrants, activists, and journalists.

50:01

Ep. 10 Apr 11, 2026

Why Libya's War Criminals Walk Free

Libya Insights @libyainsights Apr 8, 2026

In this episode, we unpack Access Now’s latest report revealing a hack-for-hire espionage campaign that operated across the Middle East between 2023 and 2025. From fake Apple and Google login pages to malicious Android apps, the findings expose a coordinated effort targeting politicians and journalists in Egypt and Lebanon. Tune in as we break down how digital forensics helped trace this cross-border repression network.

52:13

Ep. 09 Apr 8, 2026

Espionage for Repression: MENA Hackers-for-Hire Campaigns

Libya Insights @libyainsights Apr 7, 2026

This episode uncovers The Sentry’s investigation into Ahmed Gadalla—the financier behind Haftar’s war economy. Using UAE firms and al-Masraf bank, Gadalla allegedly funneled $300 million into the 2019 offensive and aided the Wagner Group. After its failure, he became an economic “fixer,” linked to arms smuggling, money laundering, and counterfeit currency. We explore how his network reveals Libya’s entrenched kleptocracy and the global call for sanctions.

1:00:36

Ep. 08 Apr 7, 2026

Ahmed Gadalla and Libya's Shadow Banking Empire

Libya Insights @libyainsights Apr 7, 2026

The Revolutionary Committees were Gaddafi’s terror squads, spying on citizens, crushing dissent via arrests and killings. Far from democracy, they enforced Green Book ideology until 2011. A chilling dictatorship tale.

30:52

Ep. 07 Apr 7, 2026

Gaddafi's Revolutionary Committees and Hit Squads

Libya Insights @libyainsights Apr 5, 2026

The Sentry report exposes Libya’s growing kleptocracy, where elites and armed groups loot state wealth through a fragmented banking system and black markets. Rooted in Qadhafi-era corruption, it has worsened as rival factions evade oversight. The report warns that international inaction and weak institutions, including the National Oil Corporation, risk total collapse and renewed civil war without swift reforms for transparency and accountability.

44:50

Ep. 06 Apr 5, 2026

The Systematic Looting of Libya

Libya Insights @libyainsights Apr 2, 2026

Almabrok Alakhal’s 2024 PhD thesis examines how globalization, migration, and cultural shifts reshape Tripoli’s Arabic-Islamic urban identity. Through legal, economic, and social analysis, it traces causes of urban decay and heritage loss. The study offers a framework for planners to balance modernization with cultural preservation, adding a distinct non-Western lens to urban transformation research.

31:24

Ep. 05 Apr 2, 2026

The Property Law that Shattered Tripoli

Libya Insights @libyainsights Apr 1, 2026

The 2026 UN report shows Libya’s shift from transit point to key hub for cocaine, cannabis, and synthetic drug trafficking across North Africa. Weak institutions, corruption, and armed groups fuel this trade, using profits for power. Economic hardship and marginalization drive local drug use and dependence. The report urges international cooperation to curb trafficking and stabilize the Mediterranean corridor.

34:35

Ep. 04 Apr 1, 2026

Libya's Drug Hub Transformation

Libya Insights @libyainsights Mar 31, 2026

The report exposes widespread citizenship forgery in Libya, where corrupt officials and criminal networks issued thousands of fake IDs to foreigners. This fraud threatens national security, enables terrorist movement, and collapses passport credibility—causing strict travel bans and visa rejections. It concludes that only deep institutional reform and biometric modernization can restore trust in Libya’s identity system.

33:31

Ep. 03 Mar 31, 2026

Libya's Ghost Families and Terrorist Passports

Libya Insights @libyainsights Mar 31, 2026

The Sentry’s 2026 report exposes deep corruption in the Libyan Investment Authority, which still controls about half of its $62.85 billion despite UN freezes. Assets in the UK, South Africa, and Liberia were mismanaged or looted by political elites—such as a London property left idle, losing $79 million. The report warns against lifting sanctions, calling LIA’s reform image an illusion hiding systemic governance failure.

55:24

Ep. 02 Mar 31, 2026

The Plunder of Libya's Frozen Billions

Libya Insights @libyainsights Mar 31, 2026

UN report reveals Libyan armed groups have infiltrated state institutions through violence and coercion, gaining impunity to control the oil sector and divert billions. Despite an arms embargo, rival forces enable illegal arms imports and foreign fighters. A criminal ecosystem fuels terrorism, smuggling, and human rights abuses, crippling accountability and turning Libya into a hub of regional instability.

1:05:54

Ep. 01 Mar 31, 2026

The Rise of Libya's Cartel State

Libya Insights @libyainsights Mar 31, 2026

Hello World