The Somali government announced seizing 250 bank accounts and 70 mobile money accounts linked to al Shabab after receiving tips regarding money transfers to the insurgent group.
Deputy Minister of Information Abdirahman Yusuf Al-Adala said at a press conference in Mogadishu today that the accounts closed by the government were used to collect extortion money. He did not reveal how much funds were seized from the militants.
Somalia’s Finance Minister, Dr. Elmi Mohamed Noor, urged businesspeople to verify the recipients of transfers and to be cautious of traders who might be working with al Shabab.
In November of last year, the government blocked al-Shabaab’s financial accounts, both through remittance companies and national banks, in a bid to disrupt al-Shabab’s financial network.
On Saturday, Al Shabaab killed at least 30 people in a triple suicide bomb attack in Hiiraan’s Buluburte and Jalalaqsi districts.
Residents from Jalalaqsi, Halgan and other surrounding districts converge in Buluburte to conduct business on the weekend.
At least 18 people – including 14 civilians – were killed in Buluburte district after an Al Shabaab suicide bomber set off a car bomb near the town’s main mosque. Many of the victims were inside the mosque during the blast.
The government of Somalia said that the financial sanctions imposed on Al-Shabaab reduced access to funds used to organize terrorist attacks.
