Somali security officials said they have seized a large cache of money that arrived Sunday at Mogadishu airport from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Two senior security officials told VOA Somali three suitcases containing $9.6 million have been put In storage in the central bank of Somalia pending an investigation.
Another security official said Ambassador Mohammed Ahmed Othman Al Hammadi, UAE envoy to Mogadishu, was at the airport to receive the money.
The official said Al Hammadi’s entourage tried to take the money out of the airport but were instructed by security forces to have the bags scanned.
“The ambassador refused, walked back to the plane with three bags, and counterterrorism units confiscated the three bags,” said the officer who requested anonymity.
The Royal Jet plane has since been released.
Al Hammadi told VOA Somali the money was not intended for the UAE embassy. “The money is for the ministry of defense. It’s for the salary of the Somali soldiers,” he told VOA.
He said the government knew in advance that the money was coming for the troops. The UAE has been training Somali soldiers in Mogadishu, as well as about 1,000 maritime police in the Puntland region.