Crown Bus Is Funding Al-Shabaab, Says The US Government

The United States has sanctioned Kenyan-based Crown Bus company for supporting terror activities including funding Al-Shabaab both in Somalia and Kenya.

According to the US Department of Treasury, Crown Bus has, over the years, been laundering money for Al-Shabaab as well as providing all logistic operations for the terror group.

The US has also sanctioned 15 other companies for the same reasons. The sanctioned companies include Haleel Commodities Ltd, which is based in Dubai and has subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, and Cyprus.

The designation also includes Mohammed Jumale Ali Awale and Faysal Yusuf Dini, both based in Kenya and at least one other Kenyan national.

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“Today’s action is part of a multifaceted effort by Treasury to support the Somali government’s economic offensive against al-Shabaab—one of three pillars in their campaign to degrade this deadly terrorist group,” said the communication from the Department.

According to the United States’ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Awale and Dini’s designations are linked to each other, and Haleel Group and Crown Bus Services. The list also includes at least three other individuals linked to Haleel’s operations in Kenya, Uganda, Cyprus, and the UAE.

One of them, Farhan Hussein Hayder, who the US says “directs and manages Haleel Group’s branches in Kenya, Uganda, Cyprus, and the UAE, and supports al-Shabaab by generating funds”, has previously been investigated by anti-terror police in Kenya, according to a Ugandan court document.

The scary announcement comes at a time Kenyan authorities are stepping up efforts to fight terrorism within the Kenyan borders with reports of an impending attack. It also comes barely a week after a court sentenced two Al-Shabaab operatives to 25 years in jail.

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