A Somali-founded money transfer bank, Dahabshiil, with links to Maine Home Care fraud and Rep. Yusuf Yusuf (D-South Portland), has ties to a sanctioned Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) oil vessel, according to a Somaliland-based outlet.
“A finding that its petroleum subsidiary systematically accepted shadow fleet cargo while concealing vessel identities from its banking partners, the public, and the press is not merely a legal problem. It is an existential one for the remittance architecture that moves the Somali diaspora’s money home,” said the Somaliland Chronicle in their March 10investigative report.
According to an investigation from the outlet, Dahabshiil CEO Abdirashid Duale attended a ceremony at the Port of Berbera in Somalia in August, celebrating the reception of the largest fuel tanker to ever dock at the port.
“It’s a great honour for Dahabshiil Group to be part of this great developmental project. We believe that this will not only turn around the development of this port but also create jobs for the young boys and girls,” said Duale, according to the Capital News.
Dahabshiil’s oil subsidiary, Horn Petroleum, put on the ceremony, according to the Somaliland Chronicle.
Photos and promotional material from the event, according to the outlet, intentionally avoided naming the shipping vessel, though the name was publicly available in port records.
“A vessel’s name is not commercially sensitive. It is broadcast publicly on AIS and printed on every port document from the moment it arrives. Its methodical removal from an event attended by a CEO, covered by four outlets, and documented on video does not have a benign interpretation,” they said.
While the Somaliland Chronicle claimed that the name of the vessel that was the center of the August ceremony was publicly available, they strangely failed to name it themselves.
The outlet also pointed to another more recent incident in which the tanker CLIFTON arrived at the port in February, offloaded oil, and departed in early March. The vessel reportedly docked with the assistance of Somali government tugs, and the oil was allegedly divided between two companies, SOMGAS and Horn Petroleum.
According to the Somaliland Chronicle, CLIFTON is sanctioned by the U.S. government for ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The vessel reportedly delivers sanctioned Iranian oil.
According to shipping records, the CLIFTON previously went by the name
QUEEN LUCA.
QUEEN LUCA appears in U.S. Department of Treasury records as a sanctioned vessel for its ties to the IRGC.
The Maine Wire could not independently confirm the Somaliland Chronicle’s claim that Horn Petroleum received oil from the sanctioned vessel, and Horn Petroleum has since denied the claims, while the news outlet maintains the accuracy of its report.
“Horn Petroleum strongly rejects the inaccurate and misleading allegations contained in a recent online article. The claims appear to rely on unverified information. These allegations are entirely false,” said the Dahabshiil subsidiary,
“For the avoidance of doubt, Horn Petroleum has never hired any vessels or networks linked to sanctioned parties, including the vessel CLIFTON (IMO 9102198),” they added.
Dahabshiil, Horn Petroleum’s parent, has ties to the vast, interconnected network of allegedly fraudulent home care businesses operating in Maine.
[RELATED: Portland Office Becomes a Hub for Medicaid “Home Health” and Somali Money Transfers…]
203 Anderson Street in Portland houses multiple MaineCare recipients that have faced audits for allegedly overbilling the taxpayer-funded program.
The manager of one of those businesses, Abdikadir Noor, also serves as the registered agent for a Dahabshiil branch located at the same address.
Rep. Yusuf operates Care for Everyone, another Medicaid recipient, out of the same address.
According to state records showing the location of money transfer stations, 1190 Forest Ave. in Portland also houses a Dahabshiil branch.
Any bets on AG Frye doing anything about this?