Kenya alleges Dahabshiil employee recruited for al-Shabaab

According to Kenya Media News Agency, an employee of the remittance company Dahabshiil has been charged in Kenya with recruiting fighters to join the terrorist group al-Shabaab.  Abdirizak Mowlana (also spelled Mowlanaa) has been described as “deputy manager” or “assistant manager.”  Dahabshiil operates in dozens of countries.  Mr. Mowlana is said to have held his position in South Africa, but it is unclear whether he managed all South African operations or just one branch office.  If the charges are proven, this news development would be the latest in a long line of red flags about Dahabshiil’s alleged involvement in financing terrorism–allegations which Dahabshiil has previously denied.

Kenya: Video Dahabshiil deputy manager charged with recruiting young Kenyans to Al-Shabaab

Kenyamedia.net – Dozens of men, including Dahabshiil’s deputy manager of South Africa, are charged with recruiting for Al-Shabaab in Kenya.

Abdirizak Mowlana was arrested in Nairobi where he was allegedly recruiting young Kenyan men to Al-Shabaab, a radical Islamic group with ties to the al-Qaeda.

“He ( Mowlanaa) met young Kenyans whom he told that he had jobs in Somalia for them. But we believe that he was taking them to Al-Shabaab to join,” said Joseph, an official for the Kenya Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Kaju, An official from the Kenyan anti-terrorism police said that the agent was investigating his alleged involvement and that he had taken young Kenyans to Somalia twice, where they eventually joined the Somali militants.

“The Assistant Manager of Dahabshiil Mr Mowlanaa has a South African passport and he was a preacher  of the Islamic religion. We introduced each other and often meet the Office of Dahabshiil in Johannesburg, South Africa” Said Mahad Mohamed, a member of the Somali entrepreneurs in South Africa…

UPDATE 3/8/2016:  Money Jihad reached out to Dahabshiil about these allegations prior to the publication of this blog post.  After publication, Dahabshiil responded, “Dahabshiil has confirmed that the accused individual (if he even exists) has no connection whatsoever with Dahabshiil. For the avoidance of doubt, he is not, and has never been, an employee or an agent of Dahabshiil, or otherwise known to Dahabshiil.”

Kenya puts al-Shabaab on sugar-free diet

Kenya is tightening the screws against the multi-million sugar smuggling business that profits al-Shabaab across the border in Somalia.  (See here and here for prior coverage of al-Shabaab’s sugar business.)  The surprising thing about this report is the quotation from a security source who described the crackdown by saying, “It’s like the government is awakening.”  Money Jihad believed that the Kenyan government was one of the few entities that have taken the threat of al-Shabaab seriously, and that they have taken steps before to reduce the flow of money to the terror group over the past several years.  Whatever the case, it would be more significant if the Gulf states, which are some of the biggest buyers of Somali contraband, joined Kenya on operations like this.  But don’t hold your breath for that.

From Midnimo last month (h/t El Grillo):

Somalia: Kenya wages war on smugglers who fund Somali Islamist militants

When Kenyan police arrested six men in the vast Dadaab refugee camp near the Somali border last April, their ultimate aim was to dismantle a decades-old sugar smuggling trade that is funding Somali militants waging war on Kenya.

The arrests, coming weeks after four al Shabaab gunmen massacred 148 people at nearby Garissa university, were part of Nairobi’s new strategy to choke off the flow of money to Islamists whose cross-border raids have hammered Kenya and its tourism industry.

While cash from sugar smuggling may amount to only a few million dollars, experts say such sums are enough for attacks that need just a few assault rifles, transport and loyalists ready to die – such as the Garissa raid or the 2013 assault on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall that killed 67 people.

“It’s like the government is awakening,” said a senior Kenyan security source from Garissa region, adding the authorities had previously often “turned a blind eye to all these things because a lot of people were benefiting – but at a cost of security.”

However if a lasting impact is to be secured more must be done, say security and diplomatic sources. That includes rooting out corruption in the police force and going after smuggling cartel bosses as well as the middle men detained so far.

The move to tackle the cross-border trade may prove as vital as the military offensive against al Shabaab inside Somalia by African Union peacekeepers and Somali soldiers that has pushed the group into smaller pockets of territory…

30 sugar smugglers ID’d as al-Shabaab financiers

Money Jihad readers may recall that Kenya recently sanctioned 86 people and 13 money transfer companies for their financial ties to the Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab. It has since been revealed that 30 of the sanctioned individuals are sugar smugglers. (Hat tips to Chris Pariso and El Grillo.)

The Star reports:

…A confidential government report seen by the Star says: “Most of the smuggled sugar enters the country [Kenya] from areas controlled by al Shabaab in Somalia. The sugar barons pay illegal levies (or protection fees) to al Shabaab, who in turn uses the proceeds to fund terrorist activities/operations…

Imposing taxes on businesses is a common al-Shabaab tactic. They do it on the charcoal supply chain, the telecommunications sector, the remittance industry, etc.  Sugar and charcoal tax rates are often based on the rate set for zakat in the Koran:  2½ percent.  Money Jihad has previously covered how lucrative the sugar trade has been for al-Shabaab here.

Uganda’s police chief to probe remitters

The head of Uganda’s national police force said they will investigate money services businesses (MSBs) after Kenya suspended 13 MSBs alleged to finance the terrorist group al-Shabaab in Somalia. Several of those same companies operating in Somalia and Kenya also do business in Uganda.  Dahabshiil is probably the most prominent of the money transfer companies identified.

From the Kampala Observer via All Africa (h/t Chris Pariso):

Police chief Kale Kayihura has said they are to investigate transactions of money transfer companies here, after evidence in Kenya suggested that some were being used to channel money for financing terrorism.

Speaking in Kampala last week, Kayihura said some of the transfer companies under investigation in Kenya are affiliated to some institutions in Uganda. According to an April 14 gazette notice issued under Kenya’s Prevention of Terrorism Act and signed by police chief Joseph Boinnet, money transfer companies topped the list of 86 accounts alleged to fund terror groups.

The notable money transfer companies mentioned include Dahabshiil, which has agent locations and branches in 126 countries worldwide, including Uganda. Another mentioned company is Kendy Money Transfer Limited, which launched its money transfer services in Kenya last September…

Kenya nabs imam alleged to have funded attack that killed 148

Keep up the good work, Kenya.  From IntelligenceBriefs.com on April 20:

Garissa Attack: Sheikh Mahat Omar, Alleged University Terror Financier Held

Kenyan police are currently detaining a Muslim cleric alleged to have financed the Garissa attack in which Al-Shabaab terrorists killed 148 people.

Police say Sheikh Hassan Mahat Omar who they are holding in Nairobi will help police investigations.

The Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) on Monday got a 30-day extended detention order by a court against Sheikh Hassan Mahat Omar, who was arrested on Friday.

According to the police, Sheikh Mahat Omar has close links with Mohammed Kuno, alias Sheikh Mahammad, alias Dulydin, alias Garmadhere, Al-Shabaab’s leader in the Juba region of Somalia and the alleged mastermind of the recent terrorist attack at the learning institution.

The prosecution alleged in court on Monday that Mr Omar and a Mr Ali Hassan Gure, who is yet to be presented in court, are involved in the financing of terrorism…

Kenya suspends 13 remitters including Dahabshiil

Kenya has frozen the bank accounts of 86 people and suspended the licenses of 13 money transfer organizations, including Dahabshiil, for their alleged role in funding the terrorist group al-Shabaab.  From NTV Kenya last week:

Critics of decisions like this often claim that regulators are cutting off “life lines” to poor Somalis by making money transfers to Somalia more difficult.  But as the news report points out, there are major, conventional banks that provide wire services.  It’s just that the fees are higher with the banks than with smaller money transfer firms and hawala dealers.  Kudos to Kenya for attempting to rein in the funding of al-Shabaab.

15 years prison for Saudi who funded al-Shabaab

A Saudi man who previously lived in California has been sentenced to 15 years in U.S. federal prison after transferring $11,000 to the Somali jihadist group al-Shabaab and for attempting to transfer another $13,000 to al-Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda offshoot in Syria.  Gufran Ahmed Kauser Mohammed was a naturalized U.S. citizen residing in Saudi Arabia prior to his extradition to Florida for trial.  Note that the convict isn’t a small town Saudi peasant: he’s a computer scientist whose family had money for him to get a college degree and travel internationally.  From the Miami Herald with a hat tip to Jihad Watch:

…Mohammed and [co-conspirator Mohamed Hussein Said] met in Saudi Arabia in May 2011 and agreed to provide financial and other resources to an al-Qaida affiliate, al-Shabaab, which was seeking to overthrow the U.S.-backed transitional government in Somalia.

Through September of that year, Mohammed allegedly wired Said more than $11,000 via Western Union to back al-Shabaab, the indictment said.

In April 2012, the FBI undercover employee established online contact with Mohammed, according to the indictment. Mohammed arranged to send a series of Western Union wire transfers totaling more than $9,000 through November to the FBI employee. The funds were intended for another al-Qaida affiliate, the Nusra Front, which is fighting the government of President Bashar Assad in Syria.

Last December, Mohammed also met in person with a purported associate of the FBI undercover employee and gave him 14,400 Saudi Arabian riyals, worth about $3,800, which also was meant to support the Nusra Front, the indictment said.

UAE: ISIS licking chops over vital sea channels

Threats to key choke points like the Strait of Hormuz from a joint venture between al-Shabaab and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are possible according to the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates.  The UAE foreign minister’s comments are being construed somewhat narrowly as a warning that ISIS could engage in piracy with al-Shabaab. But that overlooks the wider influence that al-Shabaab wields over shipping, controlling Somali ports and exacting taxes on illegal charcoal exports to the Arabian peninsula.  In other words, al-Shabaab could help ISIS undermine freedom of the seas not just through piracy, but through smuggling and illicit business relationships with Gulf states.  The foreign minister’s warnings should be read within that wider context.

From DefenseNews (h/t El Grillo):

…On Oct. 29, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan raised the piracy concerns, calling for the international community to be more vigilant regarding new threats at the fourth UAE Counter Piracy Conference in Dubai.

“As groups like Daesh [Islamic State] develop ties to criminal networks and arms networks like al-Shabab, it is essential that we prevent them from expanding their operations into the sea and threaten vital channels such as the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, Bab al Mandab and the Gulf of Aden,” he said.

“The nexus of criminal groups, violent extremists, and weak states will require a coordinated response from governments and the private sector,” he said. “We have to ask ourselves these questions and prepare ourselves in case a union of [the Islamic State group] and al-Shabab occurs”…

Somalia interdicts shipload of bombs and guns

First time for everything. Thanks to a UN resolution authorizing searches and seizures of ships by Somali security forces, one fewer Gulf-backed arms shipment is making its way into the arsenals of al-Shabaab. The resolution will also make it somewhat harder for al-Shabaab to profit from the illegal export of charcoal from Somalia into the ports of the Arabian peninsula.  From Sabahi Online (hat tip to Chris for sending this in):

Tightened security off Somalia’s coast aims to bankrupt al-Shabaab

The recent seizure of an illegal arms shipment off the Somali coast signals the government’s increasing ability to manage maritime security, analysts say, but it also highlights the need for more effective ways to degrade al-Shabaab’s access to weapons and money.

Somali security forces seized a shipping container filled with weapons and explosives October 28th, just days after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution authorising the inspection and seizure of vessels in Somali waters suspected of carrying prohibited items.

Under the resolution, states and regional partners can search ships in Somalia’s territorial waters and on the high seas when there are “reasonable grounds” to suspect they are transporting illegal arms or charcoal, a key source of funding for al-Shabaab militants.

Despite an international ban on charcoal exports, the illegal trade has increased, with al-Shabaab holding on to approximately one-third of the $250 million annual trade, according to a report by the United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea released in June.

“Charcoal is giving Al-Shabaab a lifeline,” said British Ambassador to the United Nations Mark Lyall Grant after the resolution passed October 24th.

Grant said Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had written to the Security Council October 8th, requesting assistance. “Today we have responded to that call for help,” he said in a press statement, stressing that the fight against al-Shabaab was at the heart of the resolution.
Resolution provides welcomed support to Somali security agencies

Somalia’s security apparatus is not yet capable of monitoring and controlling all maritime traffic to the ports under its control and could use the help from its international partners, said retired Colonel Sharif Hussein Robow, a former intelligence officer during the Mohamed Siad Barre regime.

Robow praised the government for seizing the container of contraband weapons and explosives at Mogadishu Port last month, but said there are many more shipments carrying prohibited items that fall through the cracks.

“The entry of these types of weapons and everything else that is illegal in a country depends on the government’s capacity [to stop it],” he said.

Currently, security at Somalia’s ports is weak because personnel are not properly trained and officers lack motivation because they are not paid regularly and lack strong supervision, Robow said.

Nonetheless, the UN resolution will help Somalia’s international partners stop the flow of illegal weapons into Somali ports, he said. It can also help stop the export of charcoal, a key source of revenue for al-Shabaab.

“One of the ways [al-Shabaab] gets money includes collecting taxes from traders who bring charcoal from the forest,” he said. “The second way is they could actually own the charcoal that is being exported, and third, they extort money from the big businesses in the charcoal trade.”

Daud Abdi Daud, secretary general of Somali Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture, a non-profit organisation that aims to expand and improve media coverage of key issues from climate change to civil insecurity, said he welcomed inspections carried out by international partners off the coast of Somalia.

“Taking such a step to stop Somali charcoal exports is a good thing because this issue poses a big problem for both the Somali people and the environment,” Daud told Sabahi. “Cutting [trees for] charcoal has resulted in desertification in Somalia and the migration of wildlife out of Somalia because the trees they would have sheltered under are being cut.”

“Cutting trees is also a big part of the widespread drought and famine in Somalia because deforestation leads to a lack of rainfall, which ultimately results in droughts,” he said.

“When the government took control of Barawe, it was a crippling loss for al-Shabaab’s finances because the millions of dollars al-Shabaab earned from charcoal exports came from charcoal that was exported from the Barawe port,” Daud said.

However in its October report, the UN Monitoring Group said more than one million bags of charcoal are still being shipped out of Kismayo Port each month, even though the Somali government resumed control of Kismayo in 2012…

And Kismayo is just one of several ports being used for illegal charcoal shipping.

10 women who’ve funded jihad

The wife of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Umaymah Hasan Ahmed Muhammed Hasan, once declared that Muslim women “should fulfill whatever they [the mujahideen] ask of us, may it be through monetary aid to them or any service or information or suggestion or participation in fighting or even through a martyrdom operation” (emphasis mine). Several have taken that message to heart.

Money Jihad has compiled profiles of 10 women who have funded Islamic terrorism since 9/11. This list includes several women who lived on the West coast of the U.S., but also the Midwest, U.K., and Europe. Pakistan-based terrorists and al-Shabaab in Somalia are common recipients of their funds. Several of these women worked with other women to carry out their fundraising or cash smuggling activities, while others worked with men.

Readers may also remember several women who have helped secular terrorist groups rob banks to raise money for their causes, including Ulrike Meinhof (Red Army Faction), Patty Hurst (Symbionese Liberation Army), and Assata Shakur (Black Liberation Army).

Are we forgetting any others?

Finland busts 4 Somalis for wires to al-Shabaab

As Money Jihad and Tundra Tabloids pointed out earlier this year, Finland criminalized the financing of terrorism 12 years ago, but nobody had been convicted yet. That’s about to change. Four Somali men living in Finland have been interrogated and indicted for transferring hundreds of euros to the terrorist group al-Shabaab. Prosecutors suggest the money could be intended to buy weapons, and some of it may have been used for an abortive plot to abduct, drug, smuggle, and conscript teenagers to fight for al-Shabaab.

The transfer of money in fairly small-dollar increments to avoid detection from some radical Somalis living in the West to Somalia, while claiming humanitarian motives, is consistent with al-Shabaab tactics, techniques, and procedures for obtaining overseas financing.

From the Helsinki Times (hat tip Aisha) on Sept. 17:

Four charged with financing terrorism

The first ever investigation into suspected terrorist offences in Finland has spawned criminal charges, with the Office of the Prosecutor General announcing on Wednesday that it has brought charges of financing terrorism against four people.

The suspects are believed to have raised and provided thousands of euros to al-Shabab, a jihadist militant group based in Somalia, fully aware of the destination and intended use of the money.

Although the wire transfers were no larger than 100–200 euros, they would have sufficed for the acquisition of various firearms, reminds state prosecutor Juha-Mikko Hämäläinen. “At the time, an assault rifle could be bought for 140 American dollars in Somalia. A hand grenade cost 25 dollars and a bazooka 150 dollars,” he highlights.

In addition, one of the suspects is accused of recruiting their brother to al-Shabab and planning to abduct his 15–17-year-old children in Finland and to take them to a terrorist training camp in Somalia against their will. The children were to be lured to Kenya under the guise of a holiday, drugged and transported across the border to a training camp in Somalia, where they would have been subjected to forced labour or similar conditions.

The plan was scrapped due to lack of money, according to the prosecution.

As a result, the suspect will also face charges of recruitment for commissioning a terrorist offence and preparation of an offence to be committed with terrorist intent. The offences are believed to have taken place between January 2008 and March 2011.

The suspects have rejected all criminal accusations in interrogations, insisting that the funds were transferred for humanitarian purposes.

Altogether, six people were suspected in the pre-trial investigation, but the Office of the Prosecutor General decided against bringing charges against two of them, a 28-year-old and 31-year-old man…