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Repeat of 2022 Central Bank Fraud Scandal Exposes Somaliland Government’s Chronic Vetting Failure
HARGEISA — Less than three years after this publication exposed the former Central Bank Governor Dahir Abdillahi Ali for flaunting an “honorary doctorate” from a Delaware-based diploma mill that shares an address with a tile supplier, yet another high-ranking official has been caught in an almost identical act of deception.
Munir Ahmed Egal, the Director General of the Presidency — the administrative engine behind the nation’s highest office — received a graduate degree from Bircham International University, an unaccredited institution repeatedly flagged by international education authorities for selling degrees without any meaningful academic requirements.
A Serial Pattern of Deception
This is not an isolated incident. In August 2022, Somaliland Chronicle revealed that Central Bank Governor Dahir Abdillahi Ali had proudly accepted an “Honorary Doctorate” from European Digital University — a university in name only, operating out of an office in Delaware with no academic standing or accreditation. That scandal was met with shrugs and silence from the very institutions tasked with protecting public integrity.
Instead of confronting the problem, the government appears to have normalized it. Now, just a few years later, an even more egregious example has surfaced — one that reaches the core of the executive branch. Egal’s fake degree isn’t honorary. It was purchased.
Gullible or Dishonest? Either Way, Unfit to Serve
Whether Egal knowingly purchased a fraudulent credential or was duped by Bircham’s elaborate marketing is beside the point. If he was complicit, he has committed fraud. If he was fooled, he lacks the discernment and judgment required for high office. Both scenarios disqualify him.
This isn’t a minor resume embellishment. It’s a question of integrity and competence in one of the most sensitive government roles in Somaliland.
A Government of Ghost Degrees
A source involved in the 2021 parliamentary and local council elections told Somaliland Chronicle that document forgery has become an entrenched part of Somaliland politics. He described a thriving underground market for fake degrees and transcripts, openly catering to political hopefuls desperate to meet basic eligibility requirements or appear more educated than they are.
“It became a seasonal business,” he said. “Election season meant peak sales.”
Legitimate degree holders now find themselves competing against officials who simply paid to appear qualified. And the consequences aren’t academic — they’re structural. Policy decisions, financial oversight, and foreign diplomacy are now being handled by people whose credentials collapse under the weight of a Google search.
Bircham: A Sophisticated Diploma Mill Operation
Bircham International University represents the modern evolution of academic fraud — a sophisticated operation that has successfully deceived officials worldwide for over three decades. Founded in 1992 by Deric Bircham, William Martin, and Bircham’s adopted son Laurence Cheng Wen, the institution has operated from multiple jurisdictions including the Bahamas, Delaware, and Spain, frequently moving when scrutinized by authorities.
The founders present themselves with grandiose credentials. William Martin claims knighthood in the “Order of the Commonwealth” and “Order of Saint Andrew of Jerusalem,” while Deric Bircham boasts of receiving “countless nominations and honors” and claims ancestral ties to medieval English nobility. Their promotional materials feature dramatic narratives about aristocratic Spanish families and connections to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Despite these elaborate backstories, the reality is stark. Oregon education officials called Bircham “totally bogus” in 2003. Texas Higher Education authorities determined it has “no degree-granting authority from Spain.” Mexico, Kenya, and multiple U.S. states have issued warnings against the institution.
Among the fake credentials Bircham cites:
AAHEA — The “American Association for Higher Education and Accreditation” appears on Wikipedia’s list of unrecognized accreditors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unrecognized_higher_education_accreditation_organizations). The real AAHEA was disbanded in 2009, but this Florida-based organization appropriated the name and Washington DC phone number to create false legitimacy. Neither the U.S. Department of Education nor the Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognizes this AAHEA as a legitimate accreditor.
Curaçao Charter — In 2018, Bircham secured a so-called “charter” from Curaçao, a jurisdiction that markets itself as offering “transnational education” opportunities with minimal oversight. The territory explicitly states it “does not provide accreditation” but merely grants charters to institutions that promise to seek accreditation elsewhere.
Professional Memberships — Bircham lists affiliations with IEEE, UN PRME, and other organizations that offer open membership to individuals. These memberships are meaningless in the context of institutional legitimacy.
IARC — The International Accreditation and Recognition Council appears on lists of unrecognized accreditors used by diploma mills and is not recognized by any major educational authority.
Bircham International University’s website touts its status as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the United States, a designation typically associated with charitable or educational institutions. But this claim is deeply misleading. The IRS grants 501(c)(3) status based on tax-exemption criteria, not academic legitimacy. It does not — and never has — evaluated whether an organization offers real education, issues valid degrees, or even operates as a school in any meaningful sense.
This maneuver is common among diploma mills: masquerade as a nonprofit to gain credibility, avoid taxes, and mislead prospective students with a veneer of official recognition. In Bircham’s case, the 501(c)(3) badge is little more than decorative — a shield for a for-profit operation that sells degrees dressed up as academic achievement. In short: tax-exempt, but not legitimate.
The “Non-Formal” Education Smokescreen
Bircham’s own website reveals the elaborate legal architecture designed to avoid educational oversight while maintaining the pretense of academic legitimacy. In a telling admission of regulatory gamesmanship, the institution explicitly states it operates under Spain’s “non-formal” education framework — a classification designed for vocational training, cooking classes, and professional workshops, not university-level education. This loophole allows Bircham to avoid supervision by Spain’s Ministry of Education while still calling itself a “university.” The institution proudly declares it is “exempt from direct regulation by any Ministry of Education, as a non formal education provider” — essentially admitting it operates outside legitimate educational oversight while marketing itself as an institution of higher learning.
This regulatory arbitrage represents sophisticated institutional fraud. Rather than submitting to educational authorities who would evaluate academic standards, curricula, and faculty qualifications, Bircham has structured itself under the Ministry of Economy (business registration) and Ministry of Consumer Affairs (business oversight) — treating education as a commercial product rather than an academic discipline. In the United States, Bircham’s Delaware incorporation as a 501c3 nonprofit provides no educational validation whatsoever; it simply means they’ve filed paperwork claiming charitable status. The institution even fabricates oversight by citing “IVU, Ignita Veritas United” and “Magna Carta Bar Chambers” as supervisory bodies — grandiose names for what appear to be fictional organizations designed to create an illusion of legitimate governance. This isn’t regulatory compliance; it’s regulatory theater designed to fool those unfamiliar with real educational accreditation.
A Career Built on Connections, Not Credentials
Egal’s fraudulent degree is merely the latest chapter in a career propelled by political proximity rather than merit. His rise through Somaliland’s institutions illustrates how access to power routinely trumps qualifications in high-stakes appointments.
During the Siilaanyo administration, Egal was inexplicably appointed as European correspondent for Somaliland National TV—despite lacking any background in journalism. The post included travel on sensitive diplomatic missions, including the Somaliland–Somalia talks in Turkey. Colleagues at the national broadcaster openly questioned how someone without journalistic or diplomatic credentials landed such a role.
Those doubts proved well-founded.
After Siilaanyo left office, Egal resurfaced within the Waddani opposition, launching the Somaliland Today outlet and once again assuming a media leadership role—still without addressing long-standing concerns about his qualifications.
Now, under President Abdirahman Abdillahi, Egal occupies the powerful post of Director General of the Presidency, responsible for coordinating the operations of Somaliland’s highest executive office. Yet he brings no evident administrative experience or record of institutional management.
His ascent—despite a persistent lack of competence—underscores a deeper structural failure: in Somaliland politics, loyalty and access continue to eclipse expertise and vetting.
Presidential Complicity? A Devastating Confession
Perhaps the most explosive evidence comes from Egal himself. In a testimonial on Bircham’s website, he proudly details his fraudulent journey while revealing potential high-level government complicity. Writing under “Somalia” rather than Somaliland — effectively erasing the nation he claims to serve — Egal describes attending Bircham’s Miami ceremony in 2025.
Most shocking is his claim that President Abdirahman Abdillahi personally “encouraged me during those hard times to continue completing my studies.” This raises explosive questions: Did the President know Egal was pursuing an unaccredited degree? Is this why such officials feel emboldened to obtain fake credentials?
Egal’s gratitude extends to “the Minister of the Presidency, the Chief of Staff, the Presidential Spokesperson, and all the various leaders at the Presidency of Somaliland,” suggesting widespread knowledge of his academic pursuits within the government. His public thanks to businessman Mr. Abdirashid Duale, the CEO Dahabshil conglomerate raises further questions about who financed this fraudulent education.
The testimonial concludes with quotes from Nelson Mandela and Somali poetry — a grotesque appropriation of moral authority to validate academic fraud.
Ceremony for Sale: The Commercial Theater
Bircham’s graduation ceremonies reveal the commercial nature of this operation. The institution charges hefty fees for elaborate staged ceremonies designed to create the illusion of academic legitimacy. According to its graduation protocol (https://bircham.net/biu-graduates/ceremonies/), “formal ceremonies” cost $300-500 per graduate, while “photo sessions” range from $200-300. The protocol explicitly states these fees cover “contribution to trip expenses” — essentially charging graduates to fund executives’ international travel.
Recent ceremonies have been held in Qatar, Angola, Guatemala, and El Salvador — mostly in luxury hotels, not universities. The institution even offers “virtual graduation” where students can create fake graduation photos using provided backgrounds and purchase caps and gowns ($150-500) to stage their own ceremonies.
Most tellingly, the graduation documents “do not specify distance education” — deliberately designed to obscure the institution’s unaccredited status.
This is a Global Problem With Real Consequences
Fake degree scandals have toppled officials worldwide. In 2005, the United Nations fired Jonathan Blankson, chief of the Human Resources Information Technology Section, after discovering his degrees were purchased from Trinity College and University, a known diploma mill. A 2004 U.S. Government Accountability Office investigation exposed 350 federal employees with fake degrees from over 120 fraudulent universities, including high-ranking officials like Charles Abell, principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, and Daniel Matthews, Chief Information Officer for the Department of Transportation.
In Mexico, 22 federal health officials were arrested in 2010 after their medical and psychology licenses turned out to be fake, including the technical director of the National Center for Blood Transfusions. According to FBI investigations, the fake degree industry generates over $1 billion annually, with an estimated 200,000 fraudulent diplomas sold each year.
The Vetting Crisis No One Wants to Fix
The bigger scandal is not that another official has a fake degree. It’s that no one in government thought to check. How did someone with such credentials pass through vetting for one of the most sensitive positions in Somaliland? Was his degree listed in his personnel file? Was it paid for with public funds?
This is not a paperwork error. It’s a failure of political culture.
No Response From Officials
Somaliland Chronicle reached out to both Munir Ahmed Egal and the Minister of the Presidency for comment on this story. We specifically asked Mr. Egal to confirm his educational credentials and explain his testimonial praising Bircham International University, while requesting the Minister — as Egal’s direct supervisor — to clarify what role he played in supporting these studies and whether he was aware of the institution’s unaccredited status. Despite multiple attempts to contact both officials through official channels, neither responded to our inquiries. Their silence speaks volumes in a matter that goes to the heart of government integrity and public accountability.
No Excuses in the Age of Search Engines
Anyone with an internet connection can uncover Bircham’s track record in seconds. If Egal and his peers couldn’t bother to do the most basic due diligence on their own education, how can they be trusted to manage national policy?
Ignorance is no longer a defense. The era of plausible deniability ended when search engines were invented.
The Ball is in President Abdillahi’s Court
This is the first major credibility crisis of the new administration. How President Abdillahi responds will define his leadership. Will he investigate, audit, and clean house? Or will he excuse, ignore, and protect?
According to Egal’s own testimonial, the President encouraged these studies. This raises questions about whether the administration was complicit or simply negligent. Either scenario demands immediate action.
The people who voted for transparency deserve more than silence. They deserve to know who’s leading their government — and whether those people actually earned the titles on their business cards.
One Fraud is an Accident. Two is a Pattern. What’s Next?
The Egal case is the second major fake degree scandal Somaliland Chronicle has reported in three years. The first was ignored. The second is unfolding. What happens next will either stop the rot or confirm it runs deeper than anyone imagined.
When fake credentials become an open secret in government, the very idea of merit-based service collapses. Competent, qualified professionals are pushed aside for smooth-talking frauds who know which websites sell prestige by the pound.
The damage is real. Civil servants take cues from the top. If dishonesty is rewarded with promotion, expect more dishonesty. If fake degrees are ignored, expect more fakes.
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