Somalia: Attorney General probes missing millions in dramatic crackdown targeting FGS officials

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Corrupt public servants are under surveillance of government agencies in Somalia, Attorney General Saleban Mohamed Mohamud said, following class of massive embezzlement of donor funds by unscrupulous officials.

In an unprecedented statement on Saturday, the FGS legal advisor issued a stern warning to officials involved in clandestine deals, adding that a probe has been unveiled targeting crooked officers with specific reference to an alleged theft of funds meant for COVID-19 fight.

So far, he said, over 20 senior health officials have been arrested, their bank accounts frozen with police seizing incriminating evidence in form of fake receipts, payment slips, and cheques used to satisfy the fraudulent activities.

"The Office of the Attorney General is handling a corruption case which started from the Ministry of Health and later spread to other ministries and top government officials," he said in a rare press conference.

"We've detained more than 20 officials including directors within the Health Ministry, heads of government departments and project coordinators, consultants and staff from private firms working with Ministry of Health," Mohamud revealed, adding that important documents for the prosecution have been seized.

Last month, authorities in Somalia arrested Abdullahi Hashi, the Director-General of Ministry of Health and Mohamud Mohamed Bule, who had been in charge of finance in the department after failing to account for millions of aid money. They are the first major arrests in the ongoing probe to unearth missing funds.

Several international partners among them the United States, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and the UN have been making donations including money to the war-torn nation, whose health infrastructure was ranked among the worst globally.

The funds, officials said, were meant to help improve quarantine facilities within the country due to surging rates of infections. To date, Martini Hospital remains the only quarantine facility within Mogadishu and has since been overwhelmed.

As of Sunday, Somalia has recorded 1,434 positive cases of COVID-19, the highest within East and Horn of Africa. Of these cases, 131 have been given a clean bill of health while 56 have since died, data obtained from the health department indicate.

Besides the two major arrests, senior officials within the department under the stewardship of Dr. Fawziya Abikar have been either suspended or taken to police custody as sleuths continue cracking the puzzle on missing millions. Most of them work in maternity and nutrition departments, he noted.

Although he did not reveal the exact amount of money being traced by his team, the AG also noted that most of the funds had been shared with other departments whose jurisdictions do not cover the current Coronavirus pandemic.

"The AG's office is also investigating other ministries and officials who, according to our preliminary investigations, have squandered public funds. I wish to assure the Somali people that we will soon catch them," he added.

Apart from the alleged theft in the health department, there have been also parallel investigations on the missing funds in which top officials from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs are accused of mass embezzlement in a scheme commonly called the Bahnaano Program.

Cases of corruption are synonymous with the federal government, which has often faced criticism from donors over "unfathomable opaqueness" in transactions related to finances. It's just in March the US and other partners started supporting the Somali National Army after months of freezing funds due to lack of accountability.

Recently, the FGS defended claims that it had squandered millions meant for mitigation of recurrent flash floods in Central Somalia, although it would be later established that the funds were indeed disbursed to the Southwest state contrary to previous claims.

GAROWE ONLINE