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Africa Horn | ||||
Somalia Petroleum Ministry dismisses allegations by UN investigators | ||||
2015-08-14 | ||||
MOGADISHU -- Somalia’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources dismissed as ‘quid pro quo’ allegations of improper payments made to individual government officials amid vote of no confidence in the President, Garowe Online reports. Somalia Federal Government entered into Capacity Building Agreement with the British Oil Company, Soma Oil & Gas on April 25, 2014. 8-member panel of UN experts said in confidential report that Soma transferred payment totaling $490,000 to senior civil servants at Mogadishu Petroleum Ministry.
It also called the allegations of acting in a conflict of interest ‘misleading and inaccurate’, a few days after Soma Oil & Gas strongly contested confidential UN report.
Somalia is also currently assessing its oil and gas potential, gaining the attention of investors keen on stake in the country’s oil and gas industry. In the wake of the UN report, UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigated the company’s headquarters in London, Reuters reported.
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Posted by:Steve White |