Dr. Elmi Mohamud Nur, the Somali Minister of Finance, has suspended Mohamed Abdirahman Anas, the Ministry of Finance’s Accountant General. Abdirizakh Mohamed Abukar has been appointed as a temporary replacement.
The Accountant General faces several accusations, according to a decree issued by the Office of the Minister of Finance on Thursday. These include engaging in behavior and actions that are detrimental to the nation’s welfare, and damaging to the Ministry’s system and administration.
The tied allegations include intentionally impeding  timely payments, blocking salary disbursements to employees and government officials without justification, and disabling the Tax Department’s SFMIS system, effectively halting the department’s operations. The Accountant General is also accused of going on vacation without sharing with his colleagues . The ruling also suspended the Director General of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance, who openly flouted a directive issued by the Minister of Finance and halted ongoing revenue operations. Neither the Accountant nor the Director, however, responded to the Minister’s accusation.
On Tuesday, Somalia’s Attorney General, Sulayman Mohamed Mohamoud, revealed the identities of 18 high-ranking Somali officials. This list includes former and current Immigration Agency directors who are all wanted in connection with a major corruption investigation. The officials are accused of theft of $21 million from government coffers during a period of financial strain in the country.Â
