And, the last Minnesota bank stops sending money to Somalia after finding a “vulnerability” with its pipeline for money transfers to Somalia.
We told you here (‘go to hell infidels’) that two (grateful to be Americans—NOT!) women in Minneapolis were found guilty of sending money to Al-shabaab, a terrorist group in the Horn of Africa a few weeks ago. Now, an immigrant woman in San Diego is found to be connected to the same scheme.
From the LA Times:
A 25-year-old Somali immigrant pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court Thursday to sending money to help a terrorist group in her native land.
Nima Yusuf, who lived in San Diego, admitted that she sent $1,450 to three men who had left the United States to fight for al-Shabaab and that she lied about her activities to agents from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.
Yusuf faces a possible 15 years in prison and $250,000 fine when she is sentenced Feb. 10. In her plea, Yusuf admitted working with four Somalis now under indictment in Minnesota for aiding al-Shabaab.
Meanwhile, the last bank in Minnesota willing to send money from immigrants to Somalia is stopping the practice.
From Minnesota Public Radio:
St. Paul, Minn. — The last U.S. bank to allow wire transfers to Somalia has given notice it no longer will, sending members of the Minnesota Somali community scrambling to find new ways to send money that country.
For people who want to send money to family in Somalia, there’s just one way, and that is through a hawala. It’s the only wire transfer service that can get money to Somalia. Each year, millions of dollars are sent by Minnesota Somalis through hawalas. For many years they’ve supplied the country’s largest source of income.
Hawalas need accounts with banks to transfer money out of the U.S. An increasing number of U.S. banks have refused to work with hawalas. Now there remains only one — Franklin Bank.
Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee* president Daniel Wordsworth said his organization has spent the last two years trying to set up their own channels to send money securely to Somalia.
“And at all levels it was made very clear to us that Franklin Bank was really our only option. I’ve just confirmed it with folks in Washington that Franklin — really that is the bank.”
That is why many in the Somali community panicked this week when Franklin’s parent-company, St Paul-based Sunrise Community Banks, announced it would close all accounts with Somali hawalas by Dec. 14.
The bank uncovered a “vulnerability” during the case against the two women in Minnesota.
Sunrise Bank’s CEO, David Reiling, said that fact [that this will slow the money flow to Somalia] weighs heavily on his shoulders. But his bank recently uncovered a vulnerability in its financial dealings with hawalas, he said.
“And that specific risk was really identified out of the recent case involving the two Somali women in Rochester, Minnesota.”
*American Refugee Committee is here. When I get a few minutes I need to check into them further.