Dahabshiil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dahabshiil is an international funds transfer company specifically targeted at Somali expatriates.[1] The company which has its headquarters in Hargeisa, Somaliland was formed in 1970 has been involved in the modern form of hawala, an informal value transfer system.
Dahabshiil is notable also because Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Sulaymon Barre, a Dahabshiil agent, was detained because the phone number of his home office in Pakistan was found on a list in the possession of someone suspected of association with the al Wafa orgranization.[2] Al Wafa was a charity that American intelligence analysts allege secretly funded al Qaeda.
During his Combatant Status Review Tribunal Barre, a Somali, testified that Dahabshiil was initially founded to serve Somali expatriates. During the tribunal Barre's Personal Representative produced printouts from the Dahabshiil website, confirming Barres' account that Dahabshiil was a legitimate organization which continued to operate in the USA, and was fully compliant with the law and sensible business precaustions. The Dahabshiil web-site currently has a prominent anti-money-laundering policy.[3] Barre explained that al-Barakat, a Somali corporation involved in the hawala system, and Dahabshiil were competitors, and that when a significant part of al-Barakat's operations in the US was suspended in 2001, its former customers shifted their business to Dahabshiil.
