UN Investigates Director of Oil Firm(SOMA 0il and Gas) Chaired By Michael Howard For “Possible Extremist Links in Somalia ”
Exclusive: A leaked UN document has revealed the Africa director of Soma Oil, chaired by the former Conservative leader, was being investigated for “possible links” with terror groups including al-Shabaab. The company has denied the allegation.
A senior executive and shareholder of a company chaired by former Conservative party leader Michael Howard is being investigated by the United Nations for “possible links” to a violent Islamist terror group in Somalia, BuzzFeed News can reveal.
A leaked memo, sent last month by a UN watchdog to diplomats in the UK and Norway, reveals that the executive director for Africa at Soma Oil and Gas is under investigation for possible ties to extremist groups in East Africa, including al-Shabaab, which in recent weeks has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly terrorist attacks in Somalia.
Soma is a London-based company chaired by Howard that was set up in 2013 to explore for offshore oil in Somalia. The Africa director, Hassan Khaire, and Howard are both shareholders in Soma and sit together on the boards of three of its group companies in the UK, according to records filed at Companies House. READ MORE
