Zamzam Abdi Adan with other government official at the launch ceremony of SLFMIS
There have been numerous reports of impropriety at the Ministry of Finance related to the PFM project during the tenure of the former Minister Zamzam Abdi Adan.
President Muse Bihi Abdi with current Minister of Yusuf Mahamed Abdi
New security vulnerabilities are routinely discovered on everything from windows on consumer grade laptops to a system running an important national infrastructure such as the SLFMIS. Unfortunately, 90% of all hacking incidents involved a security flaw.
We have consulted cyber security professionals to confirm if indeed there are security vulnerabilities as reported, and they have confirmed that in fact there are numerous vulnerability are critical and need immediate attention or the system should be taken offline and added that only a low level of expertise is required to exploit and access the system.
“Not sure how much was spent to create this system, but it appears whoever designed it has a tenuous grasp of today’s cyber security risks and has not put any controls in place to protect this system” said an IT professional who was briefed on this issue.
The experts we consulted confirmed that Somaliland’s SLFMIS would not have passed minimum security standards in any small to medium company let alone critical government infrastructure.
Side by side, Somaliland’s SLFMIS and Somalia’s Revenue Collection System
SLFMIS has been implemented and hosted by PFM Smart. There is a little information about this company whom one of Somaliland’s most valuable data sources resides with but what is clear is that it also implemented Somalia’s Revenue Collection System and is hosting it on the same network as SLFMIS.
Somaliland government has a history of using unscrupulous foreign companies often established solely for the purpose of the project at hand, PFM Smart seems to be one of those.
Minister of Finance meeting
On Monday, the Minister of Finance Yusuf Mahamed Abdi has met with yet another foreign company called OBM which works with the ministry on financial reform. It is unclear if this company is related to the PFM.
Somaliland Chronicle has reported and shared our findings with high ranking members of Somaliland government to get the right resources tasked for immediate remediation. Somaliland Chronicle will not discuss the nature of the vulnerability due to its national security implication.
Today, we are conducting a poll to gauge the public opinion on the performance of Mayor Abdirahman Mahmoud Aidiid (Soltelco) and Hargeisa City Council. The Poll is open until midnight September 22 and will publish the results as soon as it closes.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Somaliland, His Excellency Dr. Saad Ali Shire discusses the current course of Somaliland’s diplomacy, changes in the region and Vice President’s visit to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and many more topics.
Dr Saad Ali Shire addressing Chatham House
Somaliland Chronicle:Let’s get one thing out of the way; Are you the right man for the job of Somaliland’s Chief Diplomat? And why?
Dr. Saad Ali Shire:Whether I am the right man for the job is a matter for the commander in chief. But what I can say is that I have some critical skills for the job: I am hardworking, strategic, good manager, results oriented, calculating and cool. I have good writing skills and fluent in English. I also speak Spanish, Italian, Arabic and French in various degrees, and I have over 30 years of experience in foreign countries.
Dr. Shire addressing the media with UN Special Envoy Michael Keating
Somaliland Chronicle:There is a lot happening around the region, Somalia Eritrea, Ethiopia and now Djibouti seem to be all on the same page, and are signing all sorts of agreements with one another. What kind of impact do you think this will have on Somaliland and possibly its sovereignty?
Former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn transferring power to Dr Abiy Ahmed
Dr. Saad Ali Shire:Everything and every change that takes place in the Horn of Africa will affect us either positively or negatively, either in the long term or in the short term. The changes ushered by Dr. Abiy are:
Political i. Peaceful resolution of conflict ii. Respect for human rights iii. Release of political prisoners iv. Reconciliation with opposition groups e.g. ONLF. v. The establishment of a new government in the Somali region vi. Eritrea membership of the IGAD
Economical i. Privatization of public companies ii. Economic integration iii. Multinational port concessions
Strategic i. Realignment of internal and external allies ii. Oromo and Eritrea rapprochement, iii. Opening of borders between Ethiopia and Eritrea iv. Ethiopian access to Eritrean ports
Security i. Peace deal between Eritrea and Djibouti ii. Down grading of the lieu police force iii. Conflict between ethnic communities iv. Instability
Peaceful resolution of conflict, economic integration, restoration of law and order, respect for human rights, and disbandment of the notorious lieu security forces are all positive developments that are beneficial. It also possible that the regional and international community will focus more on the problem between Somaliland and Somalia once other outstanding issues in the Horn are cleared. Of course, the reform is still in process, and if at any stage security breaks down that will have serious implications for us.
Dr Saad Ali Shire with DP World and Ethiopian Officials
Somaliland Chronicle: Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has visited or met with every leader in the region and has yet to mention Somaliland and in some of his speeches seemed to favor greater Somalia. Any concern that Dr Abiy may not have Somaliland’s best interest at heart?
Dr. Saad Ali Shire:The fact that our president has not yet met the Prime Minister raises questions, but as far as our working relationship at the ground level is concerned nothing has changed, and the signals and the messages we are getting indicate that Ethiopia still considers Somaliland as a valuable partner. We will know exactly what the position of the prime minister is when we meet him.
Somaliland Chronicle: With the end of hostilities with Eritrea, Ethiopia has now access to a much closer and frankly better port facilities than Berbera, do you think they will fulfill their commitment to developing the Berbera corridor? If not, are we rethinking the 19% stake they hold in Berbera DP World deal?
President of Eritria Isaiah Afewerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sign peace agreement
Dr. Saad Ali Shire:Ethiopia is a huge country that is growing fast in terms of population and economy. The population is growing at the rate of 3% which means it will double to 204 million by 2042. Its economy is growing fast at 7-10%, which means, if you take the midpoint, it will double to reach $160 billion nine years from now by 2027. Hence, it will need more ports than Djibouti, Assab and Berbera to handle its external trade. It is not a zero sum game. Berbera can only gain from the increasing demand. You have to understand that Ethiopia has two main population centers – east and west, and Berbera will positioned to serve the eastern wing. As far their share and interest in the port of Berbera is concerned, noting has changed up to now.
Somaliland Chronicle: The Vice President’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia for Hajj and official business showed Somaliland in an elevated diplomatic status in the Kingdom, could you tell us more about the famous handshake and where we go from here with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?
Somaliland Vice President Abdirahman Saylici meeting Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Saudi investors
Dr. Saad Ali Shire:I think the high level protocol awarded to the Vice President indicated how much Saudi Arabia values its relationship with Somaliland. Saudi Arabia is an extremely important country for us. It is the number one importer of our main export, live stock. The foreign currency we earn from this trade plus the remittance of our Diaspora is what pays for our large import bill. We greatly appreciate the warm welcome extended to our vice president and thank the King for the royal reception.
Somaliland Chronicle: This is probably not the first time you are being asked this question, but there are some reports that Russia is interested in Somaliland for naval base while some have recently urged the US to recognize Somaliland before Russia does. Are we open to speaking with the Russians about giving them the base in exchange of our recognition?
Dr. Saad Ali Shire:We are an independent country, though not yet fully recognized, and our diplomatic doors are open to all including Russia. But the fact of the matter is that Russia has not yet approached us to talk to us about bases. It is all speculation.
Somaliland Chronicle: Back to Ethiopia and the Somali zone, there are lot of inhabitants with roots in Somaliland on that side of the border, is Somaliland doing anything to bolster and help them take part in the political process in Ethiopia?
Dr. Saad Ali Shire: As you rightly said, the people of Hawd and Reserved Area of Somali Region of Ethiopia, hail from Somaliland, and Somaliland has naturally vested interest in the new developments in the region. We would like to see the region peaceful, stable and more development programs coming its way. We would like also to see more cross border trade for the benefit of both sides.
Somaliland Chronicle: If and when talk with Somalia resume, can you assure Somalilanders that our sovereignty is not up for discussion?
Somaliland – Somalia talk in Ankara back in May 2016
Dr. Saad Ali Shire: In this type of negotiation, naturally sovereignty will be discussed, but it will not be given away by the negotiators. It is a constitutional matter. It will be for the public to decide on anything that might compromise their sovereignty.
Somaliland Chronicle: Finally, you have served Somaliland with distinction, could you share with us your future political ambitions, seeking a higher office perhaps?
Dr. Saad Ali Shire: My honest answer at this moment is that I have no ambition to seek higher political office. But I will keep serving my nation as long as I am alive as a citizen.
Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire took an unusual step of writing what can only be described as a fantasy short story on the Kenyan Daily Nation paper. It is not particularly good but shows a level of delirium not generally attributed to younger people.
Mukhtar Robow former deputy of Alshabaab terrorist network
Mr Khaire’s opens with a whopper of a lie “The recent amnesty has seen leaders of many terrorist groups defect to the government and help in nation building” is not only misleading but the only known high value personality to defect Alshabaab is Mukhtar Robow. At the time of his surrender, he has been separated from Alshabaab for over five years. Mr Robow had a falling out with Alshabab that saw his influence diminish and accepted the amnesty to ensure his safety.
Mr Robow does not have a role in Somalia’s Federal Government.
One of the many passports held by Deputy Director of Somali Intelligence Services
There is however an interesting high-ranking official in Khaire’s government, Mr Ahmed Fahad Dahir, the deputy director of Somali Intelligence Agency. Mr Dahir is known to have ties with extremist networks and is under investigation by Kenyan authorities on how he come to posses multiple Kenyan passports. It is unclear if Mr Khaire is referring to Mr Fahad Dahir as a rehabilitated terrorist. The Daily Nation was one of the papers that wrote about this mystery man.
Mr Khaire writing which lacks discernible direction and clarity has three sections titled Peace Deal, Security and Terrorism.
He goes on to describe events related to cessation of hostilities between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. Somalia’s fall out with Eritrea was based solely its wars with Djibouti and Ethiopia and becoming an pariah state of the day.
The security and terrorism sections have canned paragraphs about blowing winds, quests and (dragons?) and what about terrorism? there is a single sentence that eludes to terrorists being on the retreat. Au contraire, Alshabaab is gaining ground in Somalia especially in Mogadishu and its surrounding areas.
Source CNN
According to CNN, Washington Post and other news outlets, Alshabaab is running a more effective, albeit shadow government in of all places Mogadishu that includes a court system and levying tax on businesses.
From January 1st 2017 to date, there has been 70 attacks and 1,044 fatalities in Mogadishu by Alshabaab. Keyword is Mogadishu, the toll is much higher for the rest of Somalia.
Al-Shabab displays fighters during Tuesday’s Eid celebrations in central and southern regions. The uniform wore by some of them, including Waali of Jubba regions Abu Abdalla, is strikingly identical to the newest uniform used by the 14th Oct battalion of Govt forces. Coincidence? pic.twitter.com/rh3O7UIbAA
Counterfeit or fake medications kill more than hundred of thousands of people around the world a year according to World Health Organization, we will give you a minute to let that sink in.
This is not a problem for third world countries or unrecognized republics like Somaliland, where deaths related to counterfeit medications are not detected or recorded; this is a problem for almost any country including the United States, Germany and many other tier one economies.
An example of counterfeit Lipitor
Counterfeit drugs are simply too lucrative and are indiscriminate silent killers. In fact in certain war-torn countries like Somalia, it is estimated that counterfeit or fake drugs kill more people than Al-Shabaab.
Drug forgers spend very little to produce fake drugs, and effective forgers spend maximum effort to ensure their products are indistinguishable from the authentic drugs. In most cases, even experts and medical professional can’t tell the difference without specialized equipment and expensive lab analysis.
Even President Duterte has now made a priority for the Philippines to go after fake drugs. It’s important to remember that this is a leader that has been accused by many right organizations for blatant violation of human right and extra judiciously executing suspected drug deals. Even he thinks counterfeit medications are a problem.
Counterfeit Medications 101
Public service announcement by Bayer pharmaceutical giant.
Employees from Ivory Coast’s health ministry raid a shop selling counterfeit drugs at the Adjame market in Abidjan
Counterfeit medications generally fall in two categories, where one will have absolutely no active ingredients of the original drug and are made of all sorts of material from flour to ash and anything the counterfeiters can get their hands on. The sanitary conditions of the labs can be very sketchy at best.
The other category, may come from a source with pharmacological knowledge and generally contains some active ingredients though commonly the dosage is almost always incorrect to be effective.
Here is a program that eared on ABC 20/20 where authorities are searching and are finding a shocking amount of counterfeit drugs in Los Angeles California.
Huge Profits
Mubaarak promotional photo
Sale of pharmaceuticals in Somaliland is a huge multi million dollar business, and consumers prefer medications advertised as imported from Europe or North America.
Alla-Amin Medicine Stockroom
According to a practicing physician from Somaliland who lives in Sweden and has visually examined medications by Novo Nordisk, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer and Pfizer he has seen in Somaliland, and though he could not confirm if the drugs were counterfeit or authentic, he simply could not believe those medications are cheaper in Hargeisa than Gothenburg Sweden.
A good indicator of counterfeit drugs is often the steep discount relative to the their authentic versions.
Inulatard Insulin from Novo Nordisk on Sale by Alla Aamin Pharmacy
There is also a partial explanation for the price difference, the Ministry of Health receives donation of authentic medications from international aid agencies to Hargeisa Group Hospital.
According to employees and others with intimate knowledge of the Ministry of Health and the medical storage facility in Hargeisa, some of these donated drugs end up being sold on the open market.
So where is Somaliland Government in all of this? Is there an Agency in charge of overseeing drug safety? And how easy is it to import medicine into Somaliland?
We are glad you asked! The good news is that Somaliland Government has had a Quality Control Commission for several years, the bad news? The Quality Control Commission does not have the expertise, the equipment, budget or enforcement operation to detect and stop counterfeit medication from entering in Somaliland markets.
There are very few instances of the QCC confiscating and publicly incinerating expired drugs in the past and the new commissioner out investigators could not locate any instance where the commission has detected counterfeit medication.
Since the inauguration of HE Muse Bihi Abdi and the appointment of the new Commissioner of the Quality Control Commission Musa Hassan Yousuf, there has been a single case where the QCC has confiscated an expired shipment of soft drinks.
Once again, pharmaceutical import or sale is an extremely lucrative business which has the potential of attracting unscrupulous folks but the lack of discernible government quality control and verification over import of medication in Somaliland lead us to believe there are both counterfeit and or sub par medications in Somaliland.
Somaliland QCC Commissioner
According to sources, Somaliland’s QCC Commissioner and the Minister of Commerce have both reportedly approached international donors for assistance on establishment of drug quality control complete with equipment, training and funding but so far there has been no commitment from international community on this request
What are the chances that counterfeit medication have already caused lives in Somaliland? Who is responsible for any loss of live and injury resulted from counterfeit medication?
Somaliland Vice President HE Abdirahman Abdallahi Ismail Saylici and a high level delegation consisting of ministers and members of the opposition parties met with Saudi investors and commissioners of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce. Saudi Arabia’s oldest chamber of commerce established in 1946.
Vice President Saylici extended an official visit to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and the Saudi investors to come to Somaliland to evaluate the multitude of investment opportunities including agriculture, fisheries and livestock export.
Saudi Arabia is one of the largest economies in the world and opening up a fraction of it to Somaliland in direct trade for fish and seafood will have a huge impact on Somaliland’s economy.
Somaliland’s proximity to the Kingdom is another strategic advantage over other farflung trading partners such as Brasil, New Zealand and Australia which are its top trading partners for livestock and other meat products.
Additionally, Somaliland’s peace and established rule of law makes it much more attractive relative to Somalia where supply of livestock to the Kingdom are routinely disrupted by ongoing hostilities.
President of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi has set development of livestock and fisheries as a national priority and any possible investment and effort to expand exports to Saudi Arabic will require proper veterinary and introduction of commercial fishing to Somaliland to meet the demand from the Kingdom and avoid past issues where the Saudi’s unilaterally banned livestock imports from Somaliland.
The meeting with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce follows the Vice Presidents completion of Hajj in Mecca where together with leaders of the Muslim world he met with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The optics of Vice President shaking hands with the King was a much discussed event that many Somalilanders saw as yet another sign of being accepted into the fold of world nations however unofficial.
Somaliland has enjoyed a sporadic diplomatic glimmers of hope from the United Arab Emirates following the signing of the DP World and the Berbera Airport deals.
During his stay, Vice President Saylici also met with Somaliland’s diaspora.
In the post-cold war era and the rise of a unipolar global hierarchical system led by the United States, the world had seen the fall of many authoritarian regimes (Kaldor, 2006). This caused many civil wars to break out in those countries (Example: Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cambodia, Yugoslavia, etc.) between those who were marginalized for a long period of time and armed militias of the regime (Kaldor, 2006). However, those civil wars caused havoc through large human causalities and the displacement of millions of people both internally and externally as refugees as well as destabilizing global security by becoming a refuge for human trafficking, drug smugglers and terrorist (Ramsbotham, Woodhouse and Miall, 2011).
Courtesy of Chris Hondros Liberia soldier Joseph Duo exults after firing a rocket at rebel forces in Monrovia, Liberia in 2003. The photo led to an unlikely and enduring friendship between the subject and the photographer, Getty Images photojournalist Chris Hondros. Film still from HONDROS. Photo by Chris Hondros.
Thus, these above-mentioned factors plus some economic interests and foreign policy strategies drove the western powers to intervene in these countries under the umbrella of the United Nations to make peace between the warring factions, under the goals of state building and peace building (Paris, 2004).
However since these peace building operations are complicated and various programs are needed to be implemented by various international agencies, the coordination between them was poor and confusing. For example the UN asked the international agencies working in El Salvador, Mozambique, and Cambodia to allocate more budgets for peace building projects, while the IMF conversely urged them for fiscal restraint (Paris, 2004). This problem therefore does not lie with the UN or the World Bank, but instead is a result of the funding gap between DONOR PLEDGES and the ACTUAL AMOUNT RECEIVED to implement such operations. In the case of Somalia, The London Somalia Conference and 2 (2012 and 2017 ).
However, some attempts had been made to improve the coordination between the peace building agencies. For example in Kosovo, specific projects had been assigned to each agency under the supervision of the Special Representative of the General Secretary (Paris, 2004).Though in practice the operations had overlaps and competition arose among the various agencies.
UN Peacekeepers in Bosnia
The United Nation operation in Bosnia was also criticized due to the lack of coordination between its different agencies. To avoid these mistakes, the author suggests establishing an institutional center for peace building to accumulate the expertise and the experience gained from each mission so that they are used in every mission, instead of using personnel and agencies outside of the peace building field.
Australian troops heading into East Timor serving with the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET)
This example could be seen in East Timor in 1999 when the UN’s Department of Political Affairs who were familiar and experienced in the territory were assigned to lead the peace building operations but when the violence started between the anti and the pro-independence groups, the hawks of the UN leadership decided that a military minded agency is needed and they assigned the leadership role to the Department of Peace Keeping operations (DPKO) whose expertise were in running military operations but not governmental administration (Paris, 2004).
In conclusion, one of the main mistakes of foreign interventions are their overwhelming belief in military power and disregard of the contributing role of the local communities, cultures and traditions which could at any time backfire and resort to armed resistance and jeopardize the whole concept of the peace building operation (example, that is what happened to the Americans when they invaded Somalia in 1992 and it is happening to AMISOM now).
REFERENCES Kaldor, M. 2006. New and Old Wars. Stanford University Press: California Paris, Roland, “Chapter 11: Lessons Learned and Not Learned: Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone, and Beyond,” in At War’s End: Building Peace After Civil Conflict (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004): 212-234. Ramsbotham, O., Woodhouse, T. and Miall, H. 2011. Contemporary Conflict Resolution. 3rd ed.Polity: Cambridge
About the Author
Ismail Abdi Abdillahi (Bashe Abdi Gaboobe), holds Marine Engineer Certificate from Arab Maritime Transport Academy in Alexandria-Egypt, Marine Engineer Certificate from Sharjah- UAE, Post Graduate Diploma in Peace Building from Hargeysa University and Master degree in Peace Building from Coventry University, UK.
In psychology, “being in denial” is accepted as a defense mechanism in which a person, faced with a painful fact, rejects the reality of that fact. The classic symptoms of denial and delusion were on display today at a hastily convened Ministry of Investment press conference.
The Director General of the Ministry of Investment Ahmed Abokor Mohamed showing papers to the media insisted that they have ensured that Maxtor Bank is all too real and the various registration from Hong Kong and a letter from the State of Colorado proves that Maxtor Bank is in fact a real bank.
Director General Ahmed Abokor Mohamed
Additionally, representatives of Maxtor Bank in Somaliland have also spoken to the veracity of the bank and insisted that in fact it is all too real.
Both the Director General and the Bank representatives, repeated an earlier claim that the bank has been looking into Somaliland for sometime and that this is their third time to visit Somaliland.
As part of the research that Somaliland Chronicle has done, the registration of Maxtor Bank Inc is in fact real even though as Professor Abdisalam Yasin, one of the representatives of Maxtor Bank stated, a company being registered generally means nothing.
Professor Abdisalam Yasin
The biggest piece of evidence both the Ministry and Maxtor representatives furnished to the media is Maxtor Bank’s registration with the State of Colorado. This is a fact we have reported earlier and the registration is legitimate. Unfortunately, it does not mean anything.
The registration of Maxtor Bank Inc was completed with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office11/05/2018 and Maxtor Bank International Bank Inc on 11/07/2018. Both entities share the same principal by the name of Xingmei Zhao and an address of 2001 16th St, Denver Co 80202.
The first problem is the actual date of incorporation of either entity which are both less than 3 months.
Another problematic piece of information is the address on the registration – 2001 16th St, Denver Co 80202 is actually a parking lot that is still under construction.
Registration address of Maxtor Bank Inc and Maxtor International Bank Inc.
Registration address of Maxtor Bank Inc and Maxtor International Bank Inc.
Somaliland Chronicle has informed the office of the Secretary of State of Colorado that Maxtor Bank Inc seems to be operating out of a parking lot.
Maxtor Bank is also registered with the UK authorities on 12 June 2018under a different name – Maxtor International Limited (Company Number 11410811). Once again, Xingmei Zhao is listed.
Xingmei Zhao? We are unsure.
One of the representatives of Maxtor Bank curiously explained his relationship with an entity he called “Maxtor IT Trading Co.” We assume this is what the Director General was referring to when he said Maxtor Bank has many subsidiaries, but what is equally perplexing is that Maxtor IT Trading Co. was also registered on July 30 2018.
On Maxtor IT Trading Co.’s Chamber Of Commerce certificate, the Economic Activity is not banking or investment but instead “ICT Firm”.
Both the representatives of Maxtor Bank and the Director General have insisted that Maxtor Bank has major investments in Malaysia, Sri Lanka and other parts of Africa without presenting any supporting evidence of such investments.
Once again, we are uncertain how Maxtor Bank Inc could have done all the purported investments in those countries since it was registered in either May or July of this year. In fact Maxtor Bank is so new their trademark was also filed on July 18 2019.
$1,783.00 Dollars in capital
On the claim that Maxtor Bank has invested in other countries, we were able to locate the registration of Maxtor IT Trading Senegal – Not Maxtor Bank. The purported capital of the Senegalese subsidiary is 1 million Senegalese francs or a whopping 1,783.10 US dollars in today’s exchange rate.
Curiously, the Senegal operation is also focused on IT and not banking.
An IT equipment reseller or a Bank?Trade Mark Application for Maxtor Bank
On Maxtor Bank’s facebook page, there are a dizzying array of documentation, very unsual for any company to be sharing what many companies regard as sensitive information. But in the case of Maxtor Bank, it seems that they are intent on convincing someone of their legitimacy.
It is also important to note that almost every piece of documentation associated with Maxtor Bank has been created in the last 2 – 3 months.
In today’s media appearance the Director General who vigorously defended the due diligence his ministry has done on Maxtor Bank stated that they have offices in many part of the world including Denver Colorado, and while both the Ministry and Maxtor representatives have shown the same documents we have shared in this article, no one bothered to explain what type of due diligence was undertaken.
Anyone can register a company and call is Janitorial International Bank, it just does not make it a bank. I can unequivocally tell you that Maxtor Bank is a fraud
We have spoken to a retired financial expert who has worked for major banks including S&P, JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch in mergers and acquisitions about Maxtor Bank. “Due diligence 101: always check their numbers and independent audit report to really know who you are dealing with in business. Anyone can register a company and call is Janitorial International Bank, it just does not make it a bank. I can unequivocally tell you that Maxtor Bank is a fraud” He said.
While Maxtor Bank’s paper trail shows a deliberate attempt to frantically create concoct semblance of a company registered in multiple jurisdictions, unfortunately, we are unable to locate any financial information. There are no market capitalization, asset under management, number of employees or any other valuable information available to evaluate Maxtor Bank, an investor claiming to have access to billions of investment dollars.
Both the Ministry and the representatives of Maxtor Bank in Somaliland insisted that “the Memorandum of Understanding does not mean they are taking something from us” however we know the modus operandi of such unscrupulous and fraudulent entities. Had the Somaliland Chronicle not broken the story the Ministry of Investment would have been asked to pay the banks fees up front or in advance.
Somaliland Chronicle stands by the findings of its research that Maxtor Bank is not a bank but a newly formed entity with no history or track record. Further the misrepresentations of the company as a “world famous Chinese bank” which the Minister & DG bought demonstrates a clear fraudulent intent.
The incident undoubtedly casts a negative shadow on Somaliland’s credibility in terms of competence and administration. Ministers and senior civil servants with such naivety and gullibility are simply an affront to the Somaliland public.
On August 14th, the Minister of Investment Mohamed Ahmed Mohamoud and a Maxtor Bank, a major Chinese bank has signed a billion dollar Memorandum of Understanding. The press event featured the bank’s leadership and the minister signing the deal where they both gave details on the nature of investment.
If all goes according to plan, this will be by all accounts the foreign largest investment which dwarfs even Berbera DP World.
There are few problems that make the deal seem bit murky atbest, starting with the nature of Chinese banking services. Banking in China is a private public partnership where the Chinese government owns 50% of all banks. This alone make the size and the caliber of the delegation seem unlikely.
The other red flag is existence of the bank itself. We simply cannot find this major bank on any registry.
Somaliland Chronicle has contacted China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and the Bank of China to try and find out more about Maxtor Bank and it turns out that they are not aware of the existence of this bank. They suggested that we double check the name of the bank but assured us that Maxtor Bank is not on their registry.
In our research, the closest thing we are able to find to Maxtor Bank is UN Maxtor Bank, a website with very little information that was last updated in 2012 and few other entities with variations of the name United Nations Maxtor registered with various authorities in the United States and United Kingdom.
It is entirely possible that Maxtor Bank goes by a different name and it may be entirely possible that it is sort of a venture capital where they will be raising the funding from private investors. In other words, having the word bank in the name does not necessarily make an entity a bank.
Maxtor Bank Chairwomen explaining the nature of the billion dollar investment.
“I don’t think any of us understood what was happening”
Ministry of Investment employee
According to Minister Mohamoud, Maxtor Bank will invest in the tourism sector where an entire city with its own wildlife center, luxury hotels, supermarkets, farms and university will be constructed.
It is unclear what data was used to to come to the conclusion to invest one billion dollars in the tourism industry while there are more urgent needs such as transportation and energy infrastructure.
“I don’t think any of us understood what was happening, cameras, microphone and hard to understand translation. My guess is we are trying show the President we are very busy attracting investment” said an Ministry of Investment present at the meeting.
While a billion dollar investment in Somaliland would go a long way, it seems that no due diligence was done by the Ministry of Investment to ascertain the credentials and veracity of various investment firms Somaliland have signed deals with so far.
Somaliland has had a history of entering into dodgy agreements with foreign and domestic entities in the past such as Fishing agreement for ASR and privatization of Berbera Oil Terminal and storage facility which President Muse Bihi Abdi has recently cancelled.
