Al-Barakaat
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Al-Barakat, or Al-Barakaat ( ar, البركات), which means "Blessings" in
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
, is a group of companies established in 1987 in
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
. The firm is involved in the modern form of '' hawala'', an informal value transfer system and
remittance A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes wit ...
method. By 2001, Al-Barakat had outlets in 40 countries, and was the country's largest private employer. It handled about $140 million USD a year from the Somali diaspora, and also offered phone and internet services. After the 9/11 attacks in
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, the US government listed Al-Barakat as a terrorist entity, seized its assets, and detained several people associated with the company. The firm's shut down placed an enormous strain on Somalia's economy, as a majority of residents were dependent on remittances sent by relatives based abroad. In 2006, the US and UN officially removed Al-Barakat from their blacklists, finding that there was no evidence of the company's involvement in funding of any terrorist activities. In 2014, a ceremony was held to mark the relaunching of the firm. As of 20 October 2018 the Al-Barakat group of companies is sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Controls, and remains on the US watchlists. https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=379 On 12 February 2020, Barakaat Group of companies were entirely removed from the sanctions list by U.S Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This deletion completes a long process of delistings that spanned two decades and begun at the UN Sanctions Committee to finally conclude in early 2020 at OFAC for owners, executives, and member companies of the group.


Establishment

Al-Barakat first began operations in 1987. It rose to prominence after the start of the
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
in Somalia in 1991, when money transfer business, known as ''hawalas'', had become the only way for expat Somalis to send funds to their relatives in the absence of a formal banking system. ''Hawalas'' is an ancient money transfer system, which uses gold, fuel, foodstuffs and electronics as a way of balancing the books between operators (''hawaladas'') in different nations. Migrant workers can send money home to relatives by depositing money with a local ''hawalada'', who then instructs an agent to hand over the money in the recipient's country of residence.


Post 9/11 shutdown

After the
September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
, the effects of
anti-terrorist Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
financing measures of the
US government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
and other participating countries were disastrous for Al-Barakat. The Al-Barakat network subsequently came under attack, as the US government claimed that ''hawala'' brokers may have helped fund terrorist activities by funneling millions of dollars from the United States to the terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda. Shortly afterwards in 2001, the US authorities shut down Al-Barakat Bank's overseas money remittance channel, labeled the bank "the quartermasters of terror", and listed it as a terrorist entity. However, despite numerous investigations, nothing was found to link Al-Barakat to terrorist activities as was outlined by the
9/11 Commission The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks", includin ...
. By early 2003, only four criminal prosecutions had been filed and none involved charges of aiding
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
s. The 9/11 Commission Report later confirmed that the bulk of the funds used to finance the assault on the Twin Towers were not sent through the ''hawala'' system, but rather by inter-bank wire transfer to the SunTrust Bank in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. Nevertheless, the Al-Barakat network was severely impacted, and millions of Somalis were still cut off from funds transferred to their relatives that remained frozen pending conversion of the UN blacklisting. Additionally, several captives that were housed in
extrajudicial detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...
in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps in
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
were held because Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) intelligence analysts asserted that they had some kind of connection to Al-Barakat. Among these captives were
Mohammed Sulaymon Barre Mohamed Saleban Bare (known to the Pentagon as Mohammed Sulaymon Barre) () is a Somali people, Somali refugee who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Joint Task Force Guantanamo count ...
and Ilkham Turdbyavich Batayev.


Removal from the terror lists

Weaknesses in the case attempting to associate Al-Barakat with terrorist groups emerged early on, after thorough investigations were carried out in the firm's headquarters and branches. The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, which was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks", including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks, cited no direct evidence that Al-Barakat was involved in terrorist funding. Additionally, the FBI agent who had led the second U.S. delegation said diligent investigation in the
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
revealed no "smoking gun" evidence — either testimonial or documentary — showing that Al-Barakat was funding AIAI or al-Qaeda. In fact, the U.S. team could find no direct evidence at all of any real link between Al-Barakat and terrorism of any type. The two major claims, that Bin Ladin was an early investor in Al-Barakat and that the firm diverted a certain portion of its money through its system to AIAI or Al-Qaeda, could not be verified. Jumale and all the Al-Barakat witnesses denied any ties to al-Qaeda or AIAI, and none of the financial evidence the investigators examined directly contradicted these claims. Moreover, some of the claims made by the early intelligence, such as the assertion that Jumale and Bin Ladin were in Afghanistan together, proved to be wrong. In October 2009, Al-Barakat's Swedish branch was removed from the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
' list of terrorist organizations. The company had been on the list for the past eight years, and had had its bank account funds frozen. According to the Swedish Public Radio broadcaster SR, the UN did not explain why it had elected to remove Al-Barakat from its terror list. However, it has been suggested that the change in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
's position regarding the many organizations that were included on the UN terror list on weak grounds might have influenced the UN's position. Al-Barakat was subsequently able again to access its bank account funds. On 17 Feb 2012, all of the Al-Barakat companies were finally removed entirely. The case against the firm was also closed, as it was delisted by the UN Security Council al-Qaida Sanctions Committee. The delisting included Al-Barakat group of companies owner and CEO Mr. Ahmed Nur Jim'ale, along with all of the 17 listed entities associated with Al-Barakat Group of Companies. Among the latter were Barakat Bank of Somalia, Al-Barakat Exchange and Barakat Telecommunications Company. On 30 June 2016, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) completely removed Mr. Ahmed Nur Jim'ale from its listing and this completes the cycle of delisting process of Al Barakaat Group owner from International Sanctioning bodies. Further, on 12 February 2020, OFAC delisted All Barakaat related companies as well as the last listed executive from this group of companies Mr. KAHIE, Abdullahi Hussein.


Relaunch

In 2014, a ceremony was held to mark the relaunching of the Al-Barakat firm.


See also

* Al Taqwa Bank


References


External links


Hawala. An Informal Payment System and Its Use to Finance Terrorism by Sebastian R. Müller (Broschiert - Dez. 2006), ISBN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barakat, Al- Informal value transfer systems Companies of Somalia Companies established in 1986 Organizations based in Africa designated as terrorist 1986 establishments in Somalia