Somalia
Somalia: Looters steal false Somali currency from Puntland airport
By
Jul 8, 2010 - 9:08:10 AM

Unidentified looters stole some 17.5 billion Somali Shillings (approx. $531,000 USD) that was recently nabbed by Puntland security officers at Galkayo Airport, in central Mudug region, Radio Garowe reports.

The incident occured around late Tuesday night and the Puntland government has called for an immediate investigation into the robbery.

The false currency was sent from Mogadishu on a plane later seized by Puntland security forces at Galkayo Airport two weeks ago. The government ordered a freeze on the money from entering Puntland markets pending an investigation and a final decision.

Somali Shillings

The money was given to two Puntland businesswomen as a clearance for outstanding debts from the former president of the Transitional Federal Government President, Mr. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed.

Mr. Abdi Ibrahim Warsame (Qowdhan), Puntland's Deputy Minister of Finance who is also Acting Minister of Finance, said the government had arranged an alternative legal compensation to the two women who brought in the money from Mogadishu and get hold of the money before its spread.

"The government offered to the creditors an alternative legal compensation to settle the outstanding debts of the TFG," he said in a statement.

"...But militia members and other individuals involved in the initial transportation of the illegal currency looted the cargo. The collaborators of this illegal looting are still at large in Mogadishu and outside the Somali territory," he added.

Puntland promised to appoint a fact-finding commission to investigate and identify culprits and conspirators involved in the looting at Galkayo Airport, warning that anyone found guilty will face punishment according to the law

President Abdirahman Farole's government which fought relentless to get rid of counterfeit Shilling that has severely caused inflation in the region has stated that it would not allow the circulation or the usage of the currency in the areas under its control.

The embattled government in Mogadishu under current TFG President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed confirmed to Puntland authorities that the TFG handed the two creditors the 17.5billion Somali Shillings to pay off TFG debts incurred under the former administration.

Somalia has had no effective national government for 20 years and the current UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) operates under the mercy of African Union peacekeeping troops, which control only the capital's seaport, airport and Presidential Palace.

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READ: Somalia: Illegal Bank Notes Entering Puntland [Govt Press Release]

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