Somalia PM intervenes over US money transfer closure

Pedro Ugarte/AFP

File photo shows an employee of Barakaat Bank of Somalia listening to a customer who was told that he cannot receive his money because the bank accounts were frozen by the US, in Mogadishu on November 10, 2001 (AFP Photo/Pedro Ugarte)

Mogadishu (AFP) – Somalia said Sunday it was trying to prevent the closure of the main money transfer service from the United States, warning the move would have an “astronomical impact” on the war-torn country’s economy.The US-based Merchants Bank of California has said it will halt its services to money transfer companies, a decision aid groups say would stop up to 80 percent of the $200 million sent annually by relatives in the United States from reaching Somalia.READ MORE