Government ‘approves ransoms to Somali pirates’
THE GOVERNMENT has been accused of inconsistency in its stance against paying ransoms in hostage situations after it was revealed that it had privately approved millions of pounds of payments to Somali pirates.
Although publicly opposing such deals, The Sunday Times reported yesterday that “dozens of payments”, totalling up to £30 million, had been channelled through British banks in the last year – mostly to ransom hijacked ships.
Maritime lawyer Stephen Askins, who has been involved in dozens of hostage scenarios in Somalia, told the paper there is no way that a ransom payment can go through a British bank without the approval of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and the UK Borders Agency (UKBA).
“You’re obviously notifying Soca in particular because there’s an obligation to tell Soca why you are moving chunks of money around and Soca will say, ‘Okay, we acknowledge that this is a legitimate reason,'” Askins said.
As both Soca and the UKBA answer to the Home Office, it appears to contradict Foreign Secretary William Hague’s claims that Britain doesn’t “facilitate” pay-offs because it would encourage piracy.
Askins added: “There is also an inconsistency between a government saying out loud that we do not condone ransom payments and then a legal position that ransoms are legal. And I suppose it’s a policy thing that they don’t want to encourage ransoms.”
Labour MP Keith Vaz, who chairs the Commons home affairs select committee, said: “I am very concerned that the public position of the government seems to be at odds with what it is doing privately… Soca is designed to tackle organised crime, not to keep organised crime going.”
The consequences of paying ransoms could go far beyond encouraging piracy. It is feared that some of the money paid is finding its way to Islamic terror groups in the Horn of Africa.
Lord Dear, a member of the House of Lords committee that investigated terrorist money laundering in 2009, said: “There is a serious risk that a significant proportion of the money paid to pirates as a ransom could be used for financing terrorism.” ·