Somali Lawmaker Blows Whistle on ‘Fraud Pipeline’ as Trump Takes Action
A sitting Somali lawmaker is leveling explosive accusations against his own government, calling it a global “fraud pipeline” just as President Donald Trump’s administration moves to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Somali nationals living in the United States.
Dr. Abdillahi Hashi Abib, a member of Somalia’s Parliament and its Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Daily Caller that the massive welfare and aid fraud now under federal investigation in Minnesota and elsewhere is not an isolated phenomenon—but rather the predictable export of entrenched corruption within Somalia’s political system.
“This corruption did not arise overnight,” Abib said. “It is an extension of the same criminal networks that have looted foreign aid in Somalia for decades — and now operate freely in the United States under the guise of charity and community development.”
Abib said his conclusions are grounded in firsthand experience inside Somalia’s government and supported by extensive documentation he has attempted to share with U.S. authorities. In a 2023 letter titled A Sample of Somalia Government Fraud, Abib’s parliamentary committee detailed more than 400 gigabytes of data outlining itemized expenditures between July 2022 and June 2023. The report accused Somalia’s government of rampant illegal spending, including cash withdrawals without receipts, inflated travel costs, and contracts steered to family-owned companies.
Among the most striking allegations, the report claimed that the general manager of Somalia’s Central Bank evaded taxes by reclassifying a quarter of his salary as “bonuses” to avoid paying income tax.
“As you are undoubtedly aware, corruption poses a significant threat to global economic growth, hinders development, undermines democracy, and provides fertile ground for criminal and terrorist activities,” the letter stated, placing blame on the Biden-Harris administration for failing to hold Somalia’s leadership accountable.
In a follow-up letter sent Sunday to Somalia’s auditor general, Abib went further—accusing the government of “systemic looting” of humanitarian aid, much of it funded by American taxpayers. According to the letter, more than $3.5 billion in international assistance has flowed into Somalia since 2021, with roughly 90% originating from the United States.
“Funds meant for humanitarian relief have been captured and monetized by family-run enterprises,” Abib wrote, naming senior officials within Somalia’s Disaster Management Agency. He alleged that three brothers of the agency’s chairman received $1.53 million in “consulting fees” over a 36-month period, with payments registered under their wives’ names—effectively turning the agency into “a family-controlled criminal enterprise.”
“This is not incidental nepotism,” Abib wrote. “It is deliberate structural capture, designed to defeat oversight and facilitate theft.”
The letter also accused the agency’s chairman of purchasing luxury vehicles, acquiring foreign property, and funding frequent international travel—despite having been “publicly known in 2022 to lack even the personal means to purchase a cup of coffee.”
“The Relief Department, which should be the last line of defense for starving citizens, has become the engine of food aid theft,” Abib warned.
The allegations surface as President Trump’s administration intensifies its crackdown on welfare and immigration fraud tied to Somali networks in Minnesota, where prosecutors estimate taxpayers may have lost as much as $9 billion through sprawling schemes such as the Feeding Our Future scandal.
On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security announced it will formally end Temporary Protected Status for Somali nationals, citing improved conditions in Somalia and the country’s obligation to accept the return of its citizens.
“Temporary means temporary,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status. Further, allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests. We are putting Americans first.”
Under the directive, Somali migrants currently protected under TPS will be required to leave the United States by March 17.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials, 2,471 Somali nationals currently hold TPS, with another 1,383 applications pending. Approximately 600 reside in Minnesota—ground zero for some of the largest welfare fraud cases in U.S. history.
“The days of the U.S. government writing blank checks to broken regimes are over,” one senior administration official said. “We are holding both foreign governments and domestic beneficiaries accountable — and that includes Somalia.”