Bank ends transfers to Somalia
A bank thought to be the last in this country to handle money wire transfers to Somalia will stop doing so on Dec. 30.
That concerns some who fear it could create another wave of refugees as Somalis, reeling from war, famine and poverty, will be forced to move or become more willing to join extremist groups as their primary means of support dwindles.
“You’re talking hundreds of thousands of people depending on remittances,” said Daniel Wordsworth, president of the Minnesota-based American Refugee Committee. “It would be particularly devastating now because of the famine.” He said at least $100 million a year flows to Somalia from the United States.
Minneapolis-based Franklin Bank facilitates remittances from money-transfer companies such as Columbus-based Dahabshiil.
Banks doing business in Columbus have stopped doing so, fearing the government could hold them responsible if the money they handle falls into the wrong hands, such as al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked militant group that has battled the weak transitional government in Somalia.
Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, the Patriot Act created legislation that required banks to step up anti-money-laundering efforts while expanding recordkeeping. Many banks don’t want to deal with those burdens and the potential penalties.
Jibril Mohamed, who leads the Somali Community Access Network in Columbus, home to the second-largest population of Somalis in the country, said sending money in itself is not an illegal activity.
“America sends a lot of money to Somalis. A lot of charities are sending money to Somalis,” he said.
The problem is that the channels through which people can send money are narrowing, Mohamed said.
He said he worries that some Somalis might turn to illicit ways to transmit money if legitimate avenues continue to close.
“Then law-enforcement agencies will have more trouble controlling underground activities,” he said.
And al-Shabab, which has prevented aid from reaching Somalis, could use it as a propaganda tool to persuade Somalis that Americans don’t care about them even though “a lot of people hate al-Shabab. They’re being held hostage,” Mohamed said.
In a Dec. 7 letter to the federal State and Treasury departments, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., urged officials to speak with the Somali community about other ways to legitimately transmit money to Somalia “so that their loved ones can receive vital assistance consistent with important national security issues of the United States.”
The letter said that the Treasury Department indicated to Franken’s office that there are other legal channels Somalis can use.
Wordsworth said he’s heard similar things, but up to 15 money-transfer companies work through the Franklin Bank.
U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa Township, continues to work with others on legislation that would create an agency within the Treasury Department to monitor money remitters, placing the burden on the government rather than the banks to ensure that the companies comply with federal anti-terrorism regulations.
The Columbus Dispatch