Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched investigations into oil firms operating in Somalia over corruption allegations.
The SFO is investigating Soma Oil & Gas Holdings Ltd, Soma Oil & Gas Exploration Ltd, and Soma Management Ltd over payment of about $ 600,000 to the Somalia Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources under the capacity building agreement.
The money is alleged to have been used to bribe senior government officials.
The independent government department responsible for investigating and prosecuting serious and complex fraud, bribery and corruption, said it is seeking information from whistleblowers with insider information.
“We welcome anyone with inside information… We can be contacted through our secure reporting channel, which can be accessed via the SFO website,” it said.
The UN investigators, in a report submitted to Security Council, said that officials who had helped in securing Soma’s contract and negotiating the subsequent agreements could have paid the money.
Gas deposits
Soma Oil & Gas was founded in early 2013 to explore for oil in Somalia. Its board members include former leader of the Conservative Party Michael Howard.
In June 2014, the firm concluded acquisition of two dimensional seismic data covering 122,000km2 to map potential oil and gas deposits in Somalia.
Soma said it had been informed by the SFO that it was investigating an allegation made against the company and the matter is expected to be resolved in the near future, as the firm “always conducts activities in a lawful manner.”
“Soma Oil & Gas is confident that there is no basis to the allegation and it is co-operating fully with the SFO to answer its queries. Soma has always conducted its activities in a completely lawful and ethical manner,” it said in a statement.
A 2014 UN Somalia-Eritrea Monitoring Group report highlighted transparency and accountability issues in key government institutions, including the Somali Petroleum Corporation and Somali Petroleum Agency that would govern capacity building and regulation.
