Hargeysa,November 28,2015(SL-Times)-Investigations carried out by our sister newspaper Haatuf’s website www.haatuf.net reveal that relations between the notorious business tycoon Mohamed Awsaeed Geedi and Somaliland president Ahmed Siilaanyo have become so close that the former now handles money laundering for the latter’s family.M.S.Geedi’s business interests were in the past known to span fake cigarettes manufacturing and smuggling,fiber-optic communication,secret  farm out agreements in oil and minerals,as well as export of contraband goods to neighboring countries.But his latest venture requires him to move periodically large sums of dollar banknotes belonging to the president’s family out of the country to a safe haven.The money is generated through a family-operated large scale corruption scheme involving misappropriation of government budget allocations,plundering of state properties and kick backs from licenses awarded to oil and minerals prospectors that run into millions of dollars annually.

Until recently the proceeds of this corruption were usually hidden away in foreign bank accounts in the Gulf and Europe.But this method of sending funds stolen by the first family from Somaliland’s national treasury to foreign banks was stopped in the middle of this year when the government on the one hand and the opposition political parties and the donors funding the elections on the other were at loggerheads over the Guurti’s decision extending president Sillanyo’s term for 22 months.Concerned over media reports at the time that both the US and the EU were contemplating with the idea of imposing sanctons on their future travels and freezing their foreign bank accounts,the first family turned to their close business confidant M.S.Geedi to find another safer destination for storing their ill-gotten gains.As a consequence,the looted government funds and monies illicitly obtained from misappropriated state properties are stashed instead in Djiboutian banks with Mohamed Awsaeed acting as a courier.The arrangement allows for Awsaeed to operate the accounts on behalf of the first family by proxy.

In return for his corrupt facilitation services ,the government is understood to have awarded Mohamed Awsaeed long term monopolies over a number of businesses.

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