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European Money Spawns more Misery for Migrants in Libya

In this Sept. 19, 2019 photo, migrants on an overcrowded wooden boat wait to be rescued by the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 19, 2019 photo, migrants on an overcrowded wooden boat wait to be rescued by the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 23, 2019 photo, Prudence Aimee, 30, from Cameroon poses for a photo with her children, from left Ange, Wifrid, 1, and William, 3, aboard the humanitarian rescue ship Ocean Viking in Italian waters off the Sicilian town of Messina, southern Italy, hours before disembarking. Aimee left Cameroon in 2015, and when her family heard nothing from her for two years, they thought she was dead. But she was in detention and incommunicado. In nine months at Libya's Abu Salim detention center, she saw “European Union milk” and diapers delivered by UN staff pilfered before they could reach migrant children, including her toddler son. Aimee herself would spend two days at a time without food or drink. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Italy, 2019.

In this Sept. 23, 2019 photo, Prudence Aimee, 30, from Cameroon poses for a photo with her children, from left Ange, Wifrid, 1, and William, 3, aboard the humanitarian rescue ship Ocean Viking in Italian waters off the Sicilian town of Messina, southern Italy, hours before disembarking. Aimee left Cameroon in 2015, and when her family heard nothing from her for two years, they thought she was dead. But she was in detention and incommunicado. In nine months at Libya's Abu Salim detention center, she saw “European Union milk” and diapers delivered by UN staff pilfered before they could reach migrant children, including her toddler son. Aimee herself would spend two days at a time without food or drink. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Italy, 2019.

In this Sept. 23, 2019 photo, rescued migrants look at a map of Europe aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 23, 2019 photo, rescued migrants look at a map of Europe aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 18, 2019 photo, newborn baby Ange sleeps in a makeshift crib aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails in the Mediterranean Sea. His mother, Prudence Aimee, gave birth to her third son Sept. 13, just three days before boarding an overcrowded wooden boat in the hope of getting her children out of war-torn Libya. Her husband was not able to join them and stayed behind. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 18, 2019 photo, newborn baby Ange sleeps in a makeshift crib aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails in the Mediterranean Sea. His mother, Prudence Aimee, gave birth to her third son Sept. 13, just three days before boarding an overcrowded wooden boat in the hope of getting her children out of war-torn Libya. Her husband was not able to join them and stayed behind. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 photo, Abdullah, 25, a Sudanese migrant who tried crossing the Mediterranean from Libya, is reflected in a window as he uses his phone inside a Tunisian Red Crescent facility in Zarzis, southern Tunisia. The group of 47 in his first crossing from Tripoli over a year earlier had paid a uniformed Libyan and his cronies $127,000 in a mix of dollars, euros and Libyan dinars for the chance to leave their detention center and cross in two boats. They were intercepted in a coast guard boat by the same uniformed Libyan, shaken down for their cell phones and more money, and tossed back into detention. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 photo, Abdullah, 25, a Sudanese migrant who tried crossing the Mediterranean from Libya, is reflected in a window as he uses his phone inside a Tunisian Red Crescent facility in Zarzis, southern Tunisia. The group of 47 in his first crossing from Tripoli over a year earlier had paid a uniformed Libyan and his cronies $127,000 in a mix of dollars, euros and Libyan dinars for the chance to leave their detention center and cross in two boats. They were intercepted in a coast guard boat by the same uniformed Libyan, shaken down for their cell phones and more money, and tossed back into detention. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 photo, Abdullah, 25, a Sudanese migrant who tried crossing the Mediterranean from Libya sits on a beach in Zarzis, southern Tunisia. After one of his attempted crossings, he ended up in the al-Nasr Martyrs prison, where he learned the new price list for release and an attempted crossing based on nationality: Ethiopians, $5,000; Somalis $6,800; Moroccans and Egyptians, $8,100; and finally Bangladeshis, a minimum $18,500. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Tunisia, 2019.

In this Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 photo, Abdullah, 25, a Sudanese migrant who tried crossing the Mediterranean from Libya sits on a beach in Zarzis, southern Tunisia. After one of his attempted crossings, he ended up in the al-Nasr Martyrs prison, where he learned the new price list for release and an attempted crossing based on nationality: Ethiopians, $5,000; Somalis $6,800; Moroccans and Egyptians, $8,100; and finally Bangladeshis, a minimum $18,500. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Tunisia, 2019.

In this Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 photo, informal exchange offices line a street on a border town of Ben Garden, southern Tunisia. Tunisia is where the money earned off the suffering of migrants is sent to be whitewashed and to some extent recycled into the militia operations in Libya. In Ben Gardane, dozens of money-changing stalls transform Libyan dinars, dollars and euros into Tunisian currency before the money continues on its way to the capital, Tunis. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Tunisia, 2019.

In this Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 photo, informal exchange offices line a street on a border town of Ben Garden, southern Tunisia. Tunisia is where the money earned off the suffering of migrants is sent to be whitewashed and to some extent recycled into the militia operations in Libya. In Ben Gardane, dozens of money-changing stalls transform Libyan dinars, dollars and euros into Tunisian currency before the money continues on its way to the capital, Tunis. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Tunisia, 2019.

In this Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 photo, Sudanese migrants who tried crossing the Mediterranean from Libya sit in a balcony in a Tunisian Red Crescent facility in Zarzis, south of Tunisia. Tunisia offers an opportunity for militia networks to make money off European funds earmarked for migrants. Because of Libya’s dysfunctional banking system, international organizations give contracts, usually in dollars, to Libyan groups with bank accounts in Tunisia. These groups then pocket the money they make on the black-market exchange, which ranged between 4 and 9 times greater than the official rate. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Tunisia, 2019.

In this Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 photo, Sudanese migrants who tried crossing the Mediterranean from Libya sit in a balcony in a Tunisian Red Crescent facility in Zarzis, south of Tunisia. Tunisia offers an opportunity for militia networks to make money off European funds earmarked for migrants. Because of Libya’s dysfunctional banking system, international organizations give contracts, usually in dollars, to Libyan groups with bank accounts in Tunisia. These groups then pocket the money they make on the black-market exchange, which ranged between 4 and 9 times greater than the official rate. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Tunisia, 2019.

In this Sept. 14, 2019 photo, Amidou from Cameroon touches his face aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails to Italy in Mediterranean Sea. He was rescued from an overcrowded rubber boat north of Libya as he tried to cross to Europe. While in Libya he spent five weeks in various parts of the Zawiya detention center where he says he was forced to unearth weapons in the desert. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Italy, 2019.

In this Sept. 14, 2019 photo, Amidou from Cameroon touches his face aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails to Italy in Mediterranean Sea. He was rescued from an overcrowded rubber boat north of Libya as he tried to cross to Europe. While in Libya he spent five weeks in various parts of the Zawiya detention center where he says he was forced to unearth weapons in the desert. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Italy, 2019.

In this Sept. 19, 2019 photo, 4-month-old Mira is held by her mother during a rescue by the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship in the Mediterranean Sea. Her mother says their family escaped Libya after their home was destroyed in the war. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 19, 2019 photo, 4-month-old Mira is held by her mother during a rescue by the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship in the Mediterranean Sea. Her mother says their family escaped Libya after their home was destroyed in the war. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 8, 2019 photo, migrants rescued at sea by the NGOs SOS Mediterranée and Doctors Without Borders rest in the men's shelter aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 8, 2019 photo, migrants rescued at sea by the NGOs SOS Mediterranée and Doctors Without Borders rest in the men's shelter aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 18, 2019 photo, migrants rescued at sea rest in the men's shelter aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 18, 2019 photo, migrants rescued at sea rest in the men's shelter aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 21, 2019 photo, Eric Boakye, background center wearing a hoodie sweatshirt, and other rescued migrants pray for Europe to grant them a place of safety as they wait aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship in the Mediterranean Sea. Boakye, a Ghanian, was locked in the al-Nasr Martyrs center in Libya twice, both times after he was intercepted at sea. The first time, his jailers simply took the money on him and set him free. He tried again to cross and was again picked up by the coast guard and returned to his jailers. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 21, 2019 photo, Eric Boakye, background center wearing a hoodie sweatshirt, and other rescued migrants pray for Europe to grant them a place of safety as they wait aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship in the Mediterranean Sea. Boakye, a Ghanian, was locked in the al-Nasr Martyrs center in Libya twice, both times after he was intercepted at sea. The first time, his jailers simply took the money on him and set him free. He tried again to cross and was again picked up by the coast guard and returned to his jailers. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 17, 2019 photo, migrants sit on an overcrowded rubber boat as they wait to be rescued by the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship run by SOS Mediterranée and Doctors Without Borders in the Mediterranean Sea north of Libya. The EU has sent more than 327.9 million euros to Libya, with an additional 41 million approved in early December, largely funneled through UN agencies. However, the AP found that in a country without a functioning government, huge sums of European money have been diverted - in some cases with the knowledge of UN officials - to intertwined networks of militiamen, traffickers and coast guard members who exploit migrants. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 17, 2019 photo, migrants sit on an overcrowded rubber boat as they wait to be rescued by the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship run by SOS Mediterranée and Doctors Without Borders in the Mediterranean Sea north of Libya. The EU has sent more than 327.9 million euros to Libya, with an additional 41 million approved in early December, largely funneled through UN agencies. However, the AP found that in a country without a functioning government, huge sums of European money have been diverted - in some cases with the knowledge of UN officials - to intertwined networks of militiamen, traffickers and coast guard members who exploit migrants. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 23, 2019 photo, rescued migrants draw a map of the Zawiya, Libya detention center run by the al-Nasr Martyrs militia. Migrants at the center are tortured for ransoms to be freed and trafficked for more money, only to be intercepted at sea by the coast guard and brought back to the center, according to more than a dozen migrants, Libyan aid workers, Libyan officials and European human rights groups. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 23, 2019 photo, rescued migrants draw a map of the Zawiya, Libya detention center run by the al-Nasr Martyrs militia. Migrants at the center are tortured for ransoms to be freed and trafficked for more money, only to be intercepted at sea by the coast guard and brought back to the center, according to more than a dozen migrants, Libyan aid workers, Libyan officials and European human rights groups. Image by Renata Brito/AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Nov. 29, 2013 file photo, migrants cover themselves with blankets in a detention center in the Abu Salim district on the outskirts of Tripoli, Libya. They were captured by the Libyan Coast Guard while on a boat heading to Italy. When millions of euros started flowing from the European Union into Libya to slow the tide of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, the money came with promises to improve detention centers notorious for abuse and to stop human trafficking. That hasn’t happened.  Image by Manu Brabo /AP Photo. Libya, 2013.

In this Nov. 29, 2013 file photo, migrants cover themselves with blankets in a detention center in the Abu Salim district on the outskirts of Tripoli, Libya. They were captured by the Libyan Coast Guard while on a boat heading to Italy. When millions of euros started flowing from the European Union into Libya to slow the tide of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, the money came with promises to improve detention centers notorious for abuse and to stop human trafficking. That hasn’t happened.  Image by Manu Brabo /AP Photo. Libya, 2013.

In this Sept. 19, 2019, Orobosa Bright of Nigeria shows scars on his legs from his time in Libya, as he sits from aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/ AP Photo. Libya, 2019,

In this Sept. 19, 2019, Orobosa Bright of Nigeria shows scars on his legs from his time in Libya, as he sits from aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/ AP Photo. Libya, 2019,

In this Sept. 22, 2019 photo, a rescued migrant prays aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/ AP Photo. Libya, 2019,

In this Sept. 22, 2019 photo, a rescued migrant prays aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/ AP Photo. Libya, 2019,

In this Sept. 13, 2019 photo, migrants rescued at sea look out the window aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/ AP Photo. Libya, 2019,

In this Sept. 13, 2019 photo, migrants rescued at sea look out the window aboard the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship as it sails in the Mediterranean Sea. The misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative business, in part funded by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found. Image by Renata Brito/ AP Photo. Libya, 2019,

In this Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019 file photo, rescued migrants are seated next to a coast guard boat in the city of Khoms, Libya, around 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Tripoli. When millions of euros started flowing from the European Union into Libya to slow the tide of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, the money came with EU promises to improve detention centers notorious for abuse and to stop human trafficking. That hasn’t happened. Image by Hazem Ahmed/ AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019 file photo, rescued migrants are seated next to a coast guard boat in the city of Khoms, Libya, around 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Tripoli. When millions of euros started flowing from the European Union into Libya to slow the tide of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, the money came with EU promises to improve detention centers notorious for abuse and to stop human trafficking. That hasn’t happened. Image by Hazem Ahmed/ AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 7, 2019 photo, moonlight reflects from the surface of Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. Husni Bey, a prominent Libyan businessman, said the idea of Europe sending aid money to Libya, a once-wealthy country suffering from corruption, was ill-conceived from the beginning. "Europe wants to buy those who can stop smuggling with all of these programs,” Bey said. “They would be much better off blacklisting the names of those involved in human trafficking, fuel and drug smuggling and charging them with crimes, instead of giving them money.” Image by Renata Brito/ AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

In this Sept. 7, 2019 photo, moonlight reflects from the surface of Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. Husni Bey, a prominent Libyan businessman, said the idea of Europe sending aid money to Libya, a once-wealthy country suffering from corruption, was ill-conceived from the beginning. "Europe wants to buy those who can stop smuggling with all of these programs,” Bey said. “They would be much better off blacklisting the names of those involved in human trafficking, fuel and drug smuggling and charging them with crimes, instead of giving them money.” Image by Renata Brito/ AP Photo. Libya, 2019.

Maps shows satellite image of Zawiya detention center in Libya where migrants are held and overlays information on structures inside and nearby the compound. Graphic courtesy of Associated Press. Libya, 2019.

Maps shows satellite image of Zawiya detention center in Libya where migrants are held and overlays information on structures inside and nearby the compound. Graphic courtesy of Associated Press. Libya, 2019.

Diagram shows how income from migrant exploitation, aid misuse and fraud in the currency black market helps fund militias in Libya, destabilizing the country and furthering human rights abuses. Libya, 2019.

Diagram shows how income from migrant exploitation, aid misuse and fraud in the currency black market helps fund militias in Libya, destabilizing the country and furthering human rights abuses. Libya, 2019.

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — When the European Union funneled millions of euros into Libya to slow the tide of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, the money came with EU promises to improve detention centers notorious for abuse and fight human trafficking.

That hasn’t happened. Instead, the misery of migrants in Libya has spawned a thriving and highly lucrative web of businesses funded in part by the EU and enabled by the United Nations, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The EU has sent more than 327.9 million euros to Libya, with an additional 41 million approved in early December, largely funneled through UN agencies. The AP found that in a country without a functioning government, huge sums of European money have been diverted to intertwined networks of militiamen, traffickers and coast guard members who exploit migrants. In some cases, UN officials knew the money was going to militia networks, according to internal emails.

The militias torture, extort and otherwise abuse migrants for ransoms in detention centers under the nose of the UN, often in compounds that receive millions in European money, the AP investigation showed. Many migrants also simply disappear from detention centers, sold to traffickers or to other centers.

The same militias conspire with some members of Libyan coast guard units. The coast guard gets training and equipment from Europe to keep migrants away from its shores. But coast guard members return some migrants to the detention centers under deals with militias, the AP found, and receive bribes to let others pass en route to Europe.

The militias involved in abuse and trafficking also skim off European funds given through the UN to feed and otherwise help migrants, who go hungry. For example, millions of euros in UN food contracts were under negotiation with a company controlled by a militia leader, even as other UN teams raised alarms about starvation in his detention center, according to emails obtained by the AP and interviews with at least a half-dozen Libyan officials.

In many cases, the money goes to neighboring Tunisia to be laundered, and then flows back to the militias in Libya.

The story of Prudence Aimée shows how migrants are exploited at every stage of their journey through Libya.

Aimée left Cameroon in 2015, and when her family heard nothing from her for over a year, they thought she was dead. But she was in detention and incommunicado. In nine months at the Abu Salim detention center, she saw “European Union milk” and diapers delivered by UN staff pilfered before they could reach migrant children, including her toddler son. Aimée herself would spend two days at a time without food or drink.

Her family paid two ransoms for her, and she finally got on a boat that made it past the coast guard patrol, after her husband paid $850 for her passage. She was rescued by a European aid ship.

Aimée was one of more than 50 migrants interviewed by the AP at sea, in Europe, Tunisia and Rwanda, and in furtive messages from inside detention centers in Libya. Journalists also spoke with Libyan government officials, aid workers and businessmen in Tripoli, obtained internal emails and analyzed budget documents and contracts.

The issue of migration has convulsed Europe since the influx of more than a million people in 2015 and 2016, fleeing violence and poverty in the Mideast, Afghanistan and Africa. In 2015, the European Union set up a fund intended to curb migration from Africa, from which money is sent to Libya.

But Libya is plagued by corruption and caught in a civil war. The west, including the capital Tripoli, is ruled by a UN-brokered government, while the east is ruled by another government supported by army commander Khalifa Hifter. The chaos is ideal for profiteers making money off migrants.

Despite the role they play in Libya’s detention system, both the EU and the UN say they want the centers closed. In a statement to the AP, the EU said that under international law, it is not responsible for what goes on inside the centers.

“Libyan authorities have to provide the detained refugees and migrants with adequate and quality food while ensuring that conditions in detention centers uphold international agreed standards,” the statement said.

The UN said it has to work with whoever runs the detention centers to preserve access to vulnerable migrants.

“UNHCR does not choose its counterparts,” said Charlie Yaxley, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, one of the main UN agencies in Libya. “While these officials are employed by the Ministry of Interior......some presumably also have allegiances with local militias.”

After two weeks of being questioned by the AP, UNHCR said it would change its policy on awarding food and aid contracts for migrants through intermediaries.

“Due in part to the escalating conflict in Tripoli and the possible risk to the integrity of UNHCR’s programme, UNHCR decided to contract directly for these services from 1 January 2020,” Yaxley said.

The militia networks make money directly from the abuse of migrants, torturing them and sometimes sending families videos to raise ransom payments. They also work hand in hand with traffickers and some coast guard members, the AP found.

Sometimes members of the coast guard make money by doing exactly what the EU wants them to prevent: Letting migrants cross, according to Tarik Lamloum, the head of the Libyan human rights organization Beladi. Traffickers pay the coast guard a bribe of around $10,000 per boat that is allowed to pass, with around five to six boats launching at a time when conditions are favorable, he said.

The head of Libya’s Department for Combating Irregular Migration or DCIM, the agency responsible for the detention centers under the Ministry of Interior, acknowledged corruption and collusion among the militias and the coast guard and traffickers, and even within the government itself.

“They are in bed with them, as well as people from my own agency,” said Al Mabrouk Abdel-Hafez.

Beyond the direct abuse of migrants, the militia network also profits by siphoning off money from EU funds sent for their food and security — even those earmarked for a UN-run migrant center, according to more than a dozen officials and aid workers in Libya and Tunisia, as well as internal UN emails and meeting minutes seen by The Associated Press.

Millions of euros in contracts for food and migrant aid went to at least one company linked to Mohammed al-Khoja, a militia leader flown to Rome in 2017 for a UN migration meeting, according to internal UN emails seen by the AP, two senior Libyan officials and an international aid worker. Al-Khoja is also the deputy head of the DCIM, the government agency responsible for the detention centers.

One of the Libyan officials saw a multimillion-euro catering contract with a company named Ard al-Watan, or The Land of the Nation, which al-Khoja controls.

At the time the contract was under negotiation, al-Khoja already ran another center for migrants, Tarik al-Sikka, notorious for abuses including beating, hard labor and a massive ransom scheme. UN emails showed migrants were suffering from severe malnutrition and a tuberculosis outbreak.

Hinnant reported from Zarzis, Tunisia. Brito reported from aboard the Ocean Viking. Contributors include Lorne Cook in Brussels; Rami Musa in Benghazi, Libya, and Jamey Keaten in Geneva.