TRIPOLI, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan Supreme Judicial Council on Monday urged the attorney general to investigate a recent audit report revealing corruption by officials.
"The Council has reviewed the report of the Audit Bureau, and discussed it during an extraordinary meeting held today," the council said in a statement.
The council made the request after reviewing the financial and economic violations by certain parties in successive governments.
The statement said that these violations "were the main cause of the financial and economic crisis" that the country is going through.
"These accusations, if proven true, are serious crimes punishable by the Criminal Penal Code," it said, calling on the attorney general to "study the report carefully, seriously and accurately."
The council called for "completion of this task as soon as possible, disclosure of facts, and bringing those found to be involved in such financial irregularities to the court."
Agila Saleh, speaker of the eastern-based House of Representatives (parliament), on Sunday submitted a similar request to the attorney general to start an investigation into the Audit Bureau's report.
The 2017 annual audit report by the Audit Bureau of Libya, a government watchdog, was published last week, revealing hundreds of financial and administrative violations committed by the current UN-backed government and previous governments.
The report disclosed that tens of millions of U.S. dollars were illegally spent on offices of senior government officials, trips abroad, hotel accommodation, and expenses of the Libyan delegations attending international forums.