Howard is expected to be interviewed by the SFO as part of its investigation.
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Somalia’s government offered to cooperate in an investigation by the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office into Soma Oil & Gas Exploration Ltd., the Horn of Africa nation’s Petroleum Ministry said.
As stated by the company website, Soma Oil and Gas was founded in 2013 to “pursue oil and gas exploration opportunities in Somalia”. The company said the SFO had told it that “no suspicion whatsoever attaches to Lord Howard”. As a effect, its London headquarters were searched last week.
Corruption in Somalia has become so profound that foreign governments have begun to hold perpetrators accountable while the complicit Federal Government of Somalia prefers, by its action or inaction, the status quo and continues to engage in meaningless denials to cover up acts of graft and institutionalized corruption instead of taking steps to hold Somali officeholders and foreign entities such as Soma Oil and Gas accountable.
Somalia’s petroleum ministry declined to comment as the ministry staff has not yet seen the report, according to Ibrahim Hussein, the ministry’s head of external relations.
The investigators say that $690 000 worth of payments were suspicious.
The Soma deal is intended to revive Somalia’s oil and gas industry which has been on hold during decades of civil war and years of Islamic insurgency.
A further $100 000 was paid for a “data room” to store and analyse seismic data but which has not been built.
British Prime Minister David Cameron succeeded Howard as Tory leader in 2005.
“All payments pursuant to the CBA and relating to the Data Room were made directly to the Somali Government following appropriate due diligence and the implementation of various legal safeguards”, Soma said, adding that it had sought independent legal advice.
The report said those officials included director general of the oil ministry, Farah Abdi Hassan, and his deputy, Jabril Mohamoud Geeddi.
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The statement added, “Any suggestion that any of the payments… were improper, unlawful or gave rise to a conflict of interest is incorrect and defamatory….”
