In July, the group terminated its relationship with Libya and reported taking in more than $6.7 million in fees and expenses between October 2006 and January 2009, according to disclosures filed with the Justice Department. The law requires those working to influence U.S. policy or public opinion on behalf of a foreign principal to regularly report.
In August, W2 Group, a holding company whose public-relations firm has represented Rwanda and Jordan, reported earning $75,000 for helping Libya with a 2007 press event. Company chairman Larry Weber told National Journal that one of his firms was subcontracting with Monitor Group and that none of his firms have done any business on behalf of Libya since.
And public-affairs firm Brown Lloyd James dumped several years worth of disclosures in July detailing its work on behalf of Libya. The firm organized Qaddafi’s trip to the U.N., for which it originally reported receiving about $1.3 million in reimbursement for logistical expenses. But in an amended disclosure and a statement sent to NJ, the firm said the figure it reported was incorrect. It received about $575,000, which left “a significant number of expenses … unpaid,” the statement said.
The firm explained the confusion by saying, “As a small firm, we have struggled with the speed of compliance and our registrations were admittedly a bit of a mess,” adding that it has beefed up staff to “ensure these registrations are done in a timely way.”
Between January 2008 and April 2010, Brown Lloyd James had a contract worth almost $1 million with Hassan Tatanaki, a businessman with ties to Libya’s oil industry. But an official with the firm said it has only collected about half that amount.
“The scope of our work included assisting the Libyan nationals deepen its ties to U.S. and international political communities by assisting [Qaddafi’s son] Saif (sic) Qaddafi’s initial efforts to organize student exchange programs and university research programs with Libya,” the firm wrote in its disclosure.
In a statement, Brown Lloyd James said, “Hassan played an important role in trying to help his countrymen form bonds with Americans through business, the arts, education, and media. … When the Libyan regime proved irredeemable in Hassan’s eyes, beginning more than a year prior to the so-called ‘Arab Spring,’ he grew disenchanted with his work, and our efforts to create a bridge between Libya and the West ended.”
The firm’s statement ended, “We do not currently perform any work in Libya.”
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