UN Monitors Accuse British Oil Firm Of 'Payoffs' To Somali Officials

Soma secured an exclusive contract in 2013 to conduct seismic surveys on 12 offshore oil and gas blocks, totalling 60,000 square km. The contract awarded Soma the right subsequently to pick blocks it wanted to exploit.

The payments to Somalia's oil ministry totalled $490,000 over a year, according to the report. It said most of that money was earmarked for salaries, with about $40,000 put towards office supplies.

The report said that in December 2014 Soma transferred an extra $100,000 to the Somali oil ministry to construct a "data room" in the capital Mogadishu, but by June there had been no progress on its construction and oil ministry officials either could not account for the money or did not respond to requests for information.

"All payments pursuant to the CBA and relating to the Data Room were made directly to the Somali Government following appropriate due diligence and the implementation of various legal safeguards," Soma said, adding that it had sought independent legal advice.

"Soma has never made payments to individual government officials," the company said.

U.N. monitors allege that at least six officials who drew Somali government salaries were also on Soma's capacity building payroll, which would in some cases have almost trebled their salaries.

The report said those officials included director general of the oil ministry, Farah Abdi Hassan, and his deputy, Jabril Mohamoud Geeddi. Neither official replied to several Reuters requests for comment.

The monitors also queried why "despite the apparent conflict of interest", Soma had paid nearly half a million dollars to J. Jay Park, a Canadian lawyer who was acting as an official legal adviser to the Somali government when it was negotiating its contract with the British company.

According to the report, Soma confirmed to the monitors that it had paid Park's firm, Petroleum Regimes Advisory (PRA), but said it did so because the Somali government was unable to cover its own legal fees.

"Soma agreed to the Somali Government's request to pay these fees and did so after taking legal advice which confirmed that it was appropriate to do so," Soma said in its statement to Reuters.

Jay Park told Reuters, "We respectfully differ with the suggestion of a conflict of interest", adding that the Somali government requested Soma to pay the legal fees only after the negotiations ended and an agreement had been signed.

(Editing by Toni Reinhold)


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