Greetings, my fellow Somali brothers and sisters in Somalia and around the world.
Did you know Somalia ranks among the world’s most corrupt countries in the world? Somalia’s Corruption Perception Index increased to 13 index points in 2021. According to the 2021 Corruption Perception Index report by Transparency International, Somalia falls 178 the least corrupt nation out of 180 countries. I would say without any hesitation that FRC is the most corrupt and unjust government institution in Somalia. You might be asking yourself why I am making such a bold statement naming FRC the most corrupt government institution in Somalia.
In this report, you will know what’s going on behind FRC’S closed doors. What I am going to say in this report is nothing but the truth and I only speak of my own experiences. Consequently, everything I tell you in this report is my truth and what I have witnessed and experienced behind the walls of FRC. I am a Somali citizen that lives and works in Mogadishu, Banadir Somalia. I work for Somalia’s Financial Reporting Centre known as FRC. The reason I decided to write this report and speak up now is that things are getting worse day after day at FRC. I can no longer keep silent about the corruption and unjust I witness every day. I passionately hate corruption and injustice. I might not have the power to make any changes but, have the power to expose the evildoers. As stated above, everything I am sharing with you in this report is something I have seen and heard in first-hand experience. Most importantly, it is an open secret, all the employees know what is going on, but are afraid to speak up for fear of losing their livelihood.
When you google FRC, you will learn that the official director of this institution is Amina Mohamed Ali. So, who is Amina Mohamed Ali? Amina is a U.K. citizen and came to Somalia in 2008, but was born and raised in Baidhabo. She is from the Rahanwanye tribe. Her husband is MP, her father was MP in the previous Farmajo government. Everyone knows Amina including the International community (World Bank, State Department, IMF, etc) that she was once married to one of the Al-Shabab leaders. This information is only known by certain people and is held at the military court by a man named Shoote. Yet, she is the director of Somalia’s Financial Intelligent Unit. She is the director of Somalia’s Financial Reporting Centre which claims it is fighting terrorism, and corruption, and going after foreign and domestic politically exposed persons. She was married to a terrorist leader, her father was MP for southwest for the last 5 years, and her current husband is MP. No government would permit such a person to be the director of a country’s financial intelligence unit. First, she has had a link to a terrorist group. Second, her husband Nuh is a domestic politically exposed person (MP), and her father was a domestic politically exposed person (MP). This is unconstitutional and a conflict of interest.
She owns more than eight Villas in Mogadishu, Abdi Aziz district Lido beach. She owns a mansion home in Badhabo, which she goes to enjoy every single month to get away from Mogdishu’s chaos as she puts it. She travels to the U.K. whenever she feels it’s unsafe to stay in Mogadishu. She travelled to the U.K. twice last year. She owns a spa called Cleopatra Lounge (29R6+VCC, Sanna Rd, Mogadishu, Somalia, 252 61 9500087). She also owns multiple construction businesses. One of them is called Ibtisam, which she named after her daughter. She owns the security company at Badhabo airport. She has a contract from the southwest government to train their security intelligence. She has so many organizations and schools I can’t list all of their names in this report. However, she claims them to be non-profit, but it is not. She has endless businesses and properties in Somalia. She just now opened a new e-commerce business and Tech consultant company called TTL. This is a newly created company. She asked Ahmed Said (IT mentor at FRC) to create a website and Guleid Osman (compliance mentor at FRC) to get the business license and everything else they need from government institutions. So, to make the business legit, Ahmed Said hired a guy on behalf of Amina and rented a desk and a chair from a business that he knows. Then, when the IT company that FRC hired to deliver electronic equipment called the FRC admin department to confirm the delivery date, they were told that they must go through TTL which is a third-party company FRC uses. The company understood FRC’s dirty job by asking them to go through a third party company that they were never advised of. The IT company advised FRC, they will not go through a third-party company because that was not on the contract. Another example of Amina’s corruption is that FRC received two bulletproof cars last year. Amina gave away the previous FRC’s black bulletproof car to one of her elite friends, took one for herself, and gave the other one to her ex-husband Omar Mohamed Sharif (FRC’s head of administration).
Her tribal men run the administration department, and they are all cousins. Omar Mohamed Sharif, Mohamed Sharif Roble, Abdisalam Sheikh Ali, and a new guy that Mohamed Sharif (his cousin) hired last year (he was not introduced to the employee, but he’s part of the management). No one is allowed to have access to any important information like finance except these three men. For example, the last financial advisor FRC had was not allowed to see any of the institutions’ financial statements or anything else that he needed to do his job. We are all forced to come to work from 8:00–5 PM but don’t do anything. Amina’s monthly salary is $20,000 from the State Department (U.S. Justice Department) and $8,000.00 from the Somalia government. She only does FRC work when she needs to give an update to the World Bank Group and the State Department (The American Justice Department). She will fire anyone that she feels is a threat to her job. If you don’t say Yes, Amina, and don’t agree with her ideas, she will make your life a living hell, then fire you. Everyone at FRC knows her infamous spy Amin Isak Amin. Employees are afraid to talk when he is around regardless of their employment status. He’s related to her, and she pays him more than all the other civil servants at FRC.
Last year November, she changed the one-month paid vacation to two weeks. The two weeks paid vacation only applies to employees that are not in the same tribe as her (aka Rahanwayn tribe). For example, two different employees from two different departments requested to take their vacation and gave the reason they need it. At FRC, you must tell management why you need to take your annual vacation, even though you know they will decline your request. So, they did what they do best and gave the Rahanwayn employee Adiwahab Mohamed Abdirahman approval for his annual vacation because the new rule doesn’t apply to them (Rahanwayn tribe). There was another employee who also requested to take her annual vacation but got only two weeks’ approval after her IT mentor pleaded her case. She sent a letter from a hospital advising the HR department that she is in a hospital and needs two more weeks. But Amina told the HR team to advise the employee if she doesn’t come back, she will be fired and will immediately hire someone else for her position. Amina rehired the employee after someone reported the wrongful dismissal to the employee’s MP. As far as we know all civil servants are entitled to one month of paid vacation. The question we all have is who has given Amina the power to change a vacation policy set by Somalia’s Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from one month to two weeks? Amina thinks FRC is one of her businesses and doesn’t believe her job is to serve the Somali people. On December 21, 2022, this same girl requested to leave early as she was not feeling well and wanted to go home. One of the HR team informed Amina and got fired immediately. Amina and her tribal men get unlimited time off, but other FRC employees can’t even go home if they’re not feeling well for half a day.
She hired a Deputy Director but didn’t introduce him to anyone at FRC. She didn’t want NAMLC (National Anti-Money Laundering Committee) to know even though she meets them every month. Unfortunately, she fired him after she learned a new Deputy Director is coming to FRC from the President’s office. When Amina realized the new deputy director is for sure coming to FRC without her permission, she ordered the IT team to remove the current power structure and replace it with the new one. She made sure the IT team removed it from the annual report, and FRC’s website and took down the frame hanging in the hallway that shows the old power structure. I encourage you to compare FRC’s previous reporting structure and the new one. Everyone knows, she will only hire someone if she can exchange a favour with the person asking her to employ someone for them. For example, the previous attorney general Sulayman Mohamed Mohamud wanted Amina to hire Abdigani Jama. In exchange, she will get his vote when her five years term ends in May 2021. So, she hired Adbigani Jama in December 2020 and he was there for more than one year getting paid $16,000 a month, one month of paid vacation, and paid roundtrip ticket. He has not accomplished anything but used to claim he has met with other government institutions regarding the AML/CFT regulations. Then, by mid-2021 summer, Abdigani and Amina were not on talking terms. Consequently, he will come to work at 10:30 and leave at 1:30 pm. He did nothing except browse social media and talk on the phone. At the end of each month, until his contract ended in February 2022, he will make up something claiming he has given training and many other things and send it to IDILO. We should ask Amina and IDILO to produce what Abdigani Jama contributed or accomplished in his time (one and a half years) at FRC.
Most Somalis and the International Community (IMF, World Bank Group & U.S State department) are unaware how Amina gave herself another 5 years term on May 11, 2021, when her position never got posted for fair competition. Amina knew who will vote for her and when to set up the NAMLC meeting.
Who are the NAMLC ( (National Anti-Money Laundering Committee) members?
Minister of Finance (Committee Chairperson)
Minister of Justice
Minister of Internal Security
Minister of Commerce and Industry
Director General of National Intelligence and Security Agency
Governor of the Central Bank of Somalia
Attorney General
Director of Financial Reporting Center, FRC (Committee Secretary)
Has anyone ever asked why FRC never investigated Forex trader’s scam? Amina refused the Forex trader’s scam to be investigated because she and Sadiq John took money from a couple of traders and let them go. She has all the laptops they confiscated, but it is collecting dust in her office. She doesn’t want anyone to investigate or talk to her about it. She uses extortion and bribe to get whatever she wants from Somali Banks, Hawalas, and Businesses. She threatens the Somali Banks and Hawalas to give her money every month or she will incriminate them of terrorist financing and close their businesses. We the Somali people know that the Somali Banks, Hawalas, and businesses are the backbone of our economy and rebuilding our country and creating jobs for our people. She was reported to the previous government for misconduct. When she came to know about it, she went to see her tribal MPs to get to work as always. The Rahanwayne MPs went to see Farmajo and asked to leave their daughter alone and used their usual tactics. Last year alone, she got reported twice by all the Somali banks, Hawalas, and businesses to President Hassan Sheikh. Finally, President Hassan Sheikh’s advisor Hussein Mo’alin (Amina’s best friend also from the U.K) requested to keep her until January because she’s on the board of directors for his spy agency Sahan. For those Somali people that don’t know what Sahan does, let me tell you what kind of agency Sahan is. It is a spy agency that Hussein Mo’alin started which claims it is a non-profit organization. Former president Farmajo expelled this organization (Sahan) and some people he knew were spies. But, as soon as President Hassan Sheikh came into power, they all came back to Somalia and got back to work. Hussein Mo’alin “choose” a deputy director for FRC this month. However, this poor new deputy director doesn’t know that Husein Moalin knows Amina wants to “choose” the deputy director and set a precedent.
The minister of finance (Beileh) is a very close friend of hers. The Minister of Justice (Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur ) is also a very close friend of hers and for the same tribe. She and the Committee Chairperson (Minister of Finance) planned out an illegal way to get the Governor of the Central Bank & Minister of Internal Security’s vote. She knew the Minister of Commerce and Industry will vote for her. The Director-General of the National Intelligence and Security Agency and Amina hate each other and never showed up at any of the NAMLC’s meetings. So, she knew he will never attend and didn’t care. Lastly, the Attorney General’s vote was a grantee since he owes her a favor for hiring Abdigani Jama for him. Consequently, she set up a meeting within a week when she knew the Governor of the Central Bank (he and Amina hate each other too) was away and the deputy governor (Maryam Abdulahi Yusuf) of the central bank was there. Please note the deputy governor of the central bank and Amina hate each other too. On the day of the vote, Amina, Omar & Abdisalam went off to the meeting (her right-hand men). The meeting went exactly how she and the committee chairperson (Beileh) planned. As with any other meeting, Amina and her right-hand men made a presentation talking about their usual presentation topic of what is AML/CFT. Then, the committee talked about the never-ending conflict regarding AML/CFT regulation between FRC & Central Bank.
As a result, the committee chairperson executed his plan and said they are voting for Amina to “serve” another five years term. The minister of finance and the minister of justice talked about Amina and the “wonderful” work she has done for the last five years. They claimed she is the only person that can do this job and we must vote for her. The person that the minister of commerce and industry sent on his behalf spoke up saying he doesn’t anything about AML/CFT and has never heard before today. Then, the deputy of the central bank and minister of internal security said this is not part of the agenda. Most importantly, we need to post the job for fair competition and then vote for the most qualified person that can do the job. The finance minister completely disregarded the concerns of the internal security minister and the deputy governor of the central bank. The finance minister said, we are voting for her now and that is the end of the discussion. Everyone raised their hands (minister of finance, minister of justice, minister of commerce, and industry & attorney general. The deputy governor of the central bank and internal security minister felt a lot of pressure from the finance minister and gave in. Amina came back to FRC at 12:30 PM very excited like a child that got a lot of Eid money. Amina will never forget this day because her plan was successfully executed. She said, “I am so happy today because I got another five years term that I can do whatever I want.” And that is exactly what she started to do and still doing it.
Last year when Amina realized she was going to lose her job, she tried everything to keep her job. Fortunately, this time it didn’t go as she planned. She tried to go to America to speak with the people she works for and pay her salary (The U.S. Justice Department known as the State Department). Disastrously, her visa got declined and she came back to Somalia. So, my dearest Somali people, we need to know, why is the president not listening to the Somali banks, Halwas, and Businesses, but listening to Hussein Mo’ailin. She is one of the wealthiest women in Somalia. Don’t be fooled by her cheap abaya or dress. That is just an act she puts on in front of everyone to think she doesn’t take anything from FRC.
Meet FRC’s real Director
Most people think Amina Mohamed Ali is the director at FRC, but that’s the wrong assumption. You may ask yourself who then? Let me introduce to you the infamous man who’s known as Omar Dhage. Omar Mohamed Sharif aka Omar Dhage (Rahanwayn tribe) is the unofficial director at FRC and the man that calls all the shots. It is an open secret at FRC, but no one dares to say anything because everyone knows if they speak up or go against his wrongdoings, they will be fired on the spot. He is the ex-husband of FRC’s director Amina Mohamed Ali. He was secretary for Sharif Sakin who was the previous president of Southwest. He stole a lot of money from his previous employer Sharif Sakin and build himself a two-story home at the heart of central Mogadishu). Hence, Amina invited him to come work with her at FRC as the “head of Administration.” He is the owner of the company FRC contracted out for the security guard. He is the owner of the travel agency FRC uses for travel tickets. At the end of last year, there was a conference in Kenya that FRC was invited to attend. As always, Omar includes himself on every trip to get the travel allowance, but at this time, he’s already in Kenya. So, he did what he does best. You might ask yourself what crime did he commit at this time? He purchases a ticket for himself from Somalia to Kenya to get reimbursement for the ticket and to get the allowance. As mentioned above, he is the owner of the ticket agency. At every event that FRC hosts he makes fake invoices and pockets the money. He did the same thing for Somalia’s National Risk Assessment conference held in January 2021 at Decale hotel and so are the last two goAML conferences held in the same location (Decale hotel).
For instant, when FRC hosted Somalis’ first national risk assessment, FRC estimated it to be $30,000 for one week at Decale hotel. Most government officials didn’t stay at the hotel, but FRC claimed they did. Omar sent half of the people on the list home and made them sign out on Sunday at 11:30 am. So, a couple of employees stayed on Friday night, and Saturday (the first day of the conference), and signed out Sunday morning. He then asked for a refund for the remaining nights they won’t stay at the hotel. Additionally, FRC claimed they would need to rent a car for the week of the event, but FRC never rented a car, and their employees arranged their transportation. For example, on the third day of the conference, FRC employees walked from Decale to Jazera Hotel risking their lives to attend two days conference with the Somali banks and Hawalas. Another example is FRC hired interpreters on the first day of the conference and got paid $300.00. However, FRC claimed $800 on the invoice that was sent off to the World Bank Group. They rented a screen for the first day of the event from an IT company for $600 but claimed $1,500 on the invoice that was sent off to World Bank Group.
Last year, FRC received a renovation budget of almost $50,000 from the World Bank Group. As I mentioned above, Amina has a construction company she named after her daughter Ibtisam, but that is not the only construction company she has. She renovated the first and second floors very poorly and of course her office. Please note, this is the second time she’s renovating her office since FRC was established. We don’t even have AC (air conditioner) for all the rooms on the second floor. What happened to the $50,000 renovation? Where did the money go? In addition to this, she requested from the World Bank Group a budget for 3 people and 3 laptops to help Abdrisaq Godane with the National Risk Assessment project. She got a budget for 3 people and 3 laptops, but as always, she took the money and the laptops. Abdrisaq Godane knows Amina got the budget and laptops from the World Bank Group but can’t say much because he needs to keep his job. Everyone at FRC knows her corruption and unjust but can’t speak up for fear of losing their job.
What makes me cry every night is our stupid Somali leaders from the highest to the lowest rank of leaders think the money from the World Bank Group is free. They don’t think it is a debt that our future children have to pay. They don’t know when the World Bank gives you a $10 million loan, they will want $10 billion worth of our country’s resources plus interest. Unfortunately, we have in our government institutions directors like Amina who will request a budget from the World Bank for things like a certificate that costs $1,200. I know Amina doesn’t care because she started to build wealth as soon as she came into power at FRC. A wealth that she can live off for the rest of her natural life like a queen and her great-grandchildren. She built a generational wealth for herself and her great-grandchildren. Here is another example of FRC’s corruption. FRC went through an audit and failed. There are so many people on FRC’s payroll but, who never set foot at FRC e.g Amina’s brother and many others. Four people get a salary of $6,000, $5,000, and $3,000 as “advisors” etc. Everyone at FRC knows that Omar has so many sim cards and a long list of names in his desk drawer. You may be asking yourself how come no one has heard this. The reason no one heard is that Omar met the head of the audit team that came to FRC and bought him off. Amina couldn’t afford scandal as her five years term was coming to an end. So, Omar told her he will “fix it” (bribe).
Omar is the “head of administration and finance” and gets a salary of more than $6,000.00. He gets a salary for different roles and on other people’s names. He comes and leaves the office whenever he wants. He didn’t come to work since the beginning of last year. After leaving FRC, Abdigani Jama told everyone that Omar is the one in charge at FRC and not Amina. Most importantly, Abdigani told everyone that Omar is Amina’s ex-husband, and she does whatever he tells her to do, which is very true. In 2022, Omar was in Turkey for half of the year and got his salary from Salama bank to his Turkish bank account in Istanbul. Then, went to Kenya and still got his full salary in Nairobi (he has a Turkish residence and a Kenyan passport). Amina told Omar she doesn’t want him to be seen at FRC because she is afraid of her job now. She called Omar back to work this month because of the new deputy director. At the end of last year, FRC was preoccupied with shredding all the documents Omar signed and many other important documents. He enjoyed in Kenya driving a $45,000 car, while some employees I know can’t even take Bajaj after work as they can’t afford both ways. They get $700 a month and 75% of their salary goes to rent as they can’t live anywhere in the city because of where they work (FRC). Also, employees would get fired if they insisted to get personal time off. Last year, one of FRC’s employees, requested time off and told them he is getting married. They told him verbally his time off is approved but called him back the following day and said his request got denied. He requested to speak with the director since the HR team gave him the runaround. His request to see the director got denied and was told the director doesn’t want to see him and he is fired.
Everyone at FRC knows Omar is a misogynist and sexually abuses the women that work at FRC. Starting from the girl sitting at the entrance that pats down the women, and caretakers, including the old lady that cooks the food. If they refuse his requests, he will threaten to fire them. One of the caretakers got fired last year because she got “pregnant out of wedlock.” She tried to plead her case telling them she got married a couple of months ago. But her pleading fell on a deaf ear and was told we don’t want in our workplace a woman that is carrying a bastard child. So, as always, the HR team falsified the document they submit to the government as these two employees are no longer employed at FRC. Another girl went on maternity leave in 2020 and when she came back to work pregnant again, she got fired telling her “she is having babies like chicken.” Whenever they fire an employee, the HR will fabricate a lie and get it signed by people like Mohamed Idris (head of the security guard) and Hassan (logistics), and one or two employees that are loyal to them. In 2021, Omar decided some employees should get a salary increase. Those are employees are non but his own family/tribe. He gave a salary increase to Amin Izak Amin (Amina’s spy boy and relative), Adiwahab Mohamed Abdirahman (Rahanwayn) Zeinabn (Omar’s cousin), etc. When other employees asked why they also didn’t get a salary increase. They were told, they can leave now if they are not happy with what they got now. Then, Omar & Amina called the “elite employees” into Omar’s office and scold them and were told they shouldn’t have shared with other employees salary increases.
Abdisalam Sheikh Ali (Rahanwayn tribe) is one (the “second in command”) of the administration team. He used to get a salary for two different roles. He was FRC’s head of HR, the compliance department team lead, and some other roles. Then, last year he went to Ethiopia and bought an Ethiopian passport. Then, Amina told the previous FRC’s financial advisor that his contract can’t be renewed because FRC didn’t get a budget from “the World Bank Group.” Aydarus who works with the admin department applied and told Amina he’s interested in applying for the financial advisor’s position. However, Amina told him this position is for Somalis who have Western Passports. However, as soon as Abdisalam got his Ethiopian passport, she gave him the job as FRC’s “financial advisor.” Consequently, Abdisalam gets paid $4,500 a month.
Mohamed Sharif Roble (Rahanwayn tribe) works for FRC and Amina’s Spa business and gets paid $2,500 a month. He takes care of FRC’s employee payroll and Amina’s business logistics and whatever else she requests him to do.
Amin Izak Amin (Rahanwayn tribe) is the director’s spy boy and relative. He used to work for NASA before Amina asked him to come work with her. His monthly salary is $1,400 a month. She appointed him the team lead for the analyst department when she came to find out she might no longer be FRC’s director.
Adiwahab Mohamed Abdirahman (Rahanwayn tribe) used to work for NISA before she brought him to FRC. He gets paid $1,050 a month. Just like Amin Izak Amin, she appointed him to be the Compliance department team lead when she came to find out she might no longer be FRC’s director.
Zeinab (Rahanwayn tribe) is Omar’s cousin and gets paid $1050 a month. She also got married recently, but she never lost her job. She had a miscarriage and was given unlimited time off to heal. She then got pregnant and went off on maternity leave for a long time, unlike all the other women at FRC. She didn’t have to worry about job security because her cousin is the “head of the admin department.”
Ahmed Said is FRC’s IT mentor and gets paid $14,000 a month. He has been with FRC since 2019 and is also from the U.K. Every month he would claim he gave training to the IT team when he didn’t. He forces his IT support person to also include it in his monthly report. He will use the same training material occasionally because he doesn’t know what to put in his monthly report. Some of the IT team are more knowledgeable than him and are always correcting him. They’re the ones that do everything more specifically his IT support person. The IT team knows that he lies about what he does in his monthly report. Whatever needs to be done, he tells the IT team support person to get it done. He googles everything and puts it together for training material. IDILO never bother to check his recycled training material.
Guleid Osman is FRC’s Compliance department mentor and gets paid $12,000 a month. He has been with FRC since October 2020 and is also from the U.K. He deals with Somalia’s banks and Hawalas. He gets his training material from the internet and has no AML/CFT experience. He doesn’t have any certification, qualification, or practical experience to teach AML/CFT. He also uses the same training material to teach the Compliance department what is AML/CFT without giving them any practical example that is relevant in Somalia.
I and all the Somali people want to know what the State Department and the World Bank Group are going to do now since someone shed light on FRC’s corruption, fraud, money laundering, extortion, and injustice. Do the State Department and World Bank support corruption, fraud, money laundering, extortion, human rights abuse (sexual abuse), and workplace harassment?
Mr. President Hassan Sheikh, last month in your Friday khutbah you talked about the unprecedented corruption happening in the government institutions in Somalia. The Somali people want to know, what are you going to do now that you know what is going on at FRC? Are you going to investigate, and take an action against the people in your government and fight for justice? Will you listen and advocate for Amina’s victims (FRC employees, Somalis banks, Hawala, and Businesses) or you’re going to listen to Hussein Moalin and turn a blind eye as you did before?