A Somalian lawmaker told the Daily Caller the Biden administration ignored billions of dollars in U.S. aid fraud, a scandal Trump officials said they have taken steps to address.
The Trump administration’s crackdown on Somali fraud has expanded beyond Minnesota and other states as U.S. and Somalian officials document a fraud scandal in the African country. Somalian lawmaker Dr. Abdillahi Hashi Abib shared 16 letters with the Caller documenting an estimated $3.2 to $3.6 billion in direct and indirect taxpayer fraud.
The letters were shared with members of the Somali government and at least some members of the U.S. government between Feb. 2, 2023, and July 14, 2024. Department of State and Treasury Department spokespeople told the Caller that the Biden administration sent money to Somalia without addressing rampant fraud cases.
“Somalia has long been a black hole of poorly overseen U.S. assistance,” a State Department spokesperson told the Caller. “The Biden administration dumped billions of dollars into assistance to Somalia with few restrictions, leading to dozens of well-documented instances of aid diversion, theft and corruption.”
A Somali family follows a donkey cart carrying food aid given to them by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) past makeshift structures housing hundreds of displaced Somalis in a field next to the small village of Matuni in the lower Shabele region of Somalia 26 September 2007. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
One example was documented by Abib in one of four letters sent to Biden’s State Department alleging that 22 World Bank-managed projects worth $2 billion were rigged through a predetermined bidding process to enrich Somali officials and their relatives.
The World Bank houses the International Development Association (IDA), which collects funds from donor countries and distributes them as aid to low- and middle-income countries. Since its inception, the United States has been the largest contributor to IDA, providing $62 billion, or 19.56% of total contributions, according to Congress.
The World Bank has not responded to the Caller’s request for comment, but has previously told the Caller in response to other allegations of fraud given by Abib that it follows many risk management procedures and takes allegations of misuse of funds seriously.
Somalian men unload sacks of sorghum provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) 05 December 2007 on Marka beach 100 km south of Mogadishu. (Photo credit should read JOSE CENDON/AFP via Getty Images)
Another letter also documented a more than $370 million shortfall in the 2023 budget between reported donor project revenue and actual deposits into the Somalian Treasury Single Account, which connects aid from U.S. taxpayer dollars to the Somali government.
Although Biden’s State Department did not respond to Abib’s notice, Trump’s current administration told the Caller it has taken steps to prevent the continuation of any fraud.
“Under the Trump administration, we have taken numerous steps to terminate programs with documented diversion, install new safeguards and create new oversight mechanisms,” the State Department spokesperson said. “With these latest steps, that work continues under President Trump’s zero-tolerance policy for waste, fraud and abuse in U.S. assistance.”
After waiting almost three years for a response, Abib said the State Department’s assessment of corruption was correct and that the early January suspension of aid to Somalia was “the right thing to do.” He added that he believes the department will take action on the specific problems he documented “in the coming days.”
A World Food Programme (WFP) employee rearranges sacks of sorgum inside a warehouse at Bokolmanyo refugee camp in the Somali region of Ethiopia on December 19, 2017. (Photo credit ZACHARIAS ABUBEKER/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo was carbon-copied on three of Abib’s letters, including the report alleging World Bank complicity in billions of dollars of fraud, a Caller review found.
A Treasury Department spokesperson told the Caller the current administration has taken steps to combat corruption allegations like those uncovered by Abib and the billions of dollars of fraud discovered by investigators in Minnesota.
“Under President Trump, this administration is taking decisive action to clean up the rampant welfare fraud allowed by Joe Biden and Tim Walz. Billions of dollars intended for feeding hungry children, housing disabled seniors and providing services for children in need were diverted to benefit Somali fraud rings,” the spokesperson said.
EAGAN, MN – JULY 01: People hold up Somali flags during a protest calling for justice for Isak Aden on July 1, 2020 in Eagan, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
The department spokesperson told the Caller it will “aggressively deploy every tool at its disposal to eliminate fraud and to bring accountability.”
The Central Bank of Somalia’s General Manager used resources to purchase AK-47 rifles and ammunition on the black market, Abib alleged in 2024 letter. The bank is supported by the World Bank and the U.S. government and manages accounts where U.S. aid is deposited. The letter also alleged failures to enforce Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism guidelines.
Abib alleged that the Governor of the Central Bank took kickbacks or bribes in a 2023 letter shared with high-level U.S. officials. He claimed that both the Governor and the Minister of Finance were central to a corrupt system where $21 million was stolen and audit books were “cooked” to hide the loss.
Another 2024 letter alleged the Governor took part in CV fraud, claiming that he had falsified his academic and professional qualifications to secure his position.
Abib said he now has a meeting scheduled with the Treasury Department as a result of the Caller’s inquiries. “They said that they did not know what happened before, but now they want to listen and they want to learn whatever I have to share with them,” Abib said.
Somalis displaced people wait to receive food rations at a distribution centre of World Food program (WFP) in the Dharkenley District of Mogadishu on December 13, 2010, the camp feeds several hundred families a day amid an increasing number of people depending on food aid in Somalia. (Photo by ABDURASHID ABIKAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Abib warned that U.S. humanitarian aid to Somalia has also become a target of fraud despite the nation facing a historic drought. A February 2023 letter alleged that up to 60% of food security aid managed by the World Food Program was systematically diverted.
“I am aware of these and many other allegations of waste, fraud and abuse related to assistance to Somalia,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee James Risch told the Caller, saying oversight of taxpayer funds remains a priority.
Risch said he oversaw actions related to “credible allegations of diversion of humanitarian food aid in 2023” and the termination of support to the Somali National Army’s Danab Brigade.
Abib thanked Risch for taking “tangible actions” and said he “did his part,” arguing that more could have been done absent the Biden administration. In May, Risch helped introduce legislation to hold international peace operations accountable for U.S. taxpayer funds.
“The United States faces real national security threats from the instability and chaos in Somalia,” Risch told the Caller, emphasizing the prevention of waste, fraud and abuse.
Abib said he has also been contacted by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa. He concluded that stopping Somali fraud requires focusing on the Somali government.
Abib previously told the Caller that due to the large amount of U.S. aid and the lack of Somali economic output, nearly all money circulating in country — and nearly all the fraud — traces back to the U.S. taxpayer.
The U.S. Embassy in Somalia and USAID received 16 and 13 letters, respectively, but did not respond to the Caller’s request for comment.
The Caller reached out to Adeyemo’s representatives for comment.
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