Libya's Ghost Families and Terrorist Passports

This report analyzes systemic citizenship forgery in Libya based on official prosecutorial data released between late 2023 and early 2024. It documents how criminal networks and corrupt officials manipulated civil registries to grant thousands of fraudulent identities to foreign nationals. These illicit activities have undermined national security, allowing individuals to access state subsidies and, in some cases, facilitating the movement of international terrorists. Consequently, the integrity of the Libyan passport has collapsed, leading to severe global travel restrictions and high visa rejection rates for legitimate citizens. The findings suggest that only comprehensive institutional reform and biometric upgrades can restore the credibility of the nation’s identity system.