DUBAI – A United Nations report accuses Blackwater founder Erik Prince of helping to violate an international arms embargo on Libya, putting the military contractor at risk of UN sanctions, according to a diplomat with access to the report.
The report by the UN Panel of Experts monitoring the ban on arms transfers to Libya says that Prince-controlled companies have provided three aircraft to assist in sending helicopters and military contractors to assist Russia-backed Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar in 2019.
The plan to send Western mercenaries to Libya has developed as foreign weapons and fighters entered the country in 2019 and 2020 from a variety of outside powers, including Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, deepening a conflict that has been ongoing since 2014, the report says, according to the diplomat.
Mr. Prince is likely to be referred to the UN Sanctions Committee, which can order a freeze on his assets or a travel ban, according to the New York-based diplomat and a former official with knowledge of the situation. Permanent members of the Security Council, including the United States, Russia or China, can veto any potential sanctions against Mr. Prince, who does business with the three countries.
“Erik Prince had absolutely nothing to do with any operation in Libya in 2019, or any other time,” said a Prince spokesman by email.