The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Somalia is at the centre of a growing corruption scandal, with senior officials accused of extortion, misappropriation of donor funds and blackmail. Multiple sources within the Ministry and donor agencies have raised serious concerns about the role of the Director General, Yusuf Abdirahman Samatar, accusing him of working in collusion with the State Minister to siphon millions of dollars in climate change funding meant to support Somalia’s environmental resilience efforts.
Confidential sources inside the Ministry describe a fast-moving scheme in which the Director General has taken full control of operations, overshadowing even the authority of the Minister. According to officials familiar with the matter, the DG has been misleading the Minister on financial matters and engagement with multilateral climate funding institutions.
He has reportedly convinced the Minister that they are securing crucial climate funds for the Ministry while, in reality, large sums of money are being diverted for personal enrichment.
A source from inside the Ministry told Shabelle, “The DG has completely taken over the Ministry’s operations, even surpassing the Minister’s authority. He has told the Minister, ‘You don’t even need to be in the Ministry, just go where you want and I will handle everything.’”
According to multiple donor agency officials who have been directly targeted by this scheme, the Director General has been pressuring various international organizations, including UN agencies, to commit financial resources under the guise of supporting national climate action priorities. However, insiders confirm that these requests were designed primarily for the personal gain of select ministry officials at the top.
A senior official from a UN agency, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed deep concern over the situation, stating, “This is not just corruption – it is a direct attack on Somalia’s credibility in securing international climate financing. The global community is willing to support Somalia’s climate action, but this level of mismanagement and extortion could lead to funding freezes, cutting off crucial support for the country’s most vulnerable communities.”
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), two of the world’s most significant international climate finance institutions, have reportedly been directly targeted by this scheme. In 2024, the GCF approved close to $100 million for Somalia, a critical fund aimed at supporting climate resilience projects. However, donor community sources now warn that this funding is at serious risk due to growing fears of financial mismanagement within the Ministry.
A Somali climate expert monitoring the developments told Shabelle, “What we are witnessing is a coordinated effort to extort and divert badly needed climate finance into private accounts. If this is not stopped, Somalia will struggle to secure future funding from any major climate financing institution.”
Investigations conducted by Shabelle indicate that the Director General has also been pressuring local organizations, soliciting bribes in exchange for letters of accreditation to major climate funding bodies. In one case, a targeted Somali NGO was asked to provide close to $200,000 in exchange for accreditation, an act that constitutes a clear attempt to corrupt the international accreditation process.
A high-ranking official inside the Ministry, who has witnessed these dealings firsthand, described how the DG has consolidated his own power and sidelined other officials, controlling the flow of donor funds. The official revealed that the DG has privately boasted about his ability to extract money from international funding institutions, reportedly telling senior officials that they must “enrich themselves” before the government’s term ends in just over a year.
Another source, also within the Ministry, added, “The Director General sees this as his last opportunity to cash in before a new government takes over or a political crisis reshapes the current administration. He approaches organizations aggressively, using threats and coercion, but at the heart of it, it’s about personal gain.”
Shabelle Media has obtained a list of organizations and UN agencies that have been approached by the DG for illicit financial transactions. Due to the sensitivity of the matter, their identities are being withheld pending further verification. However, a source close to the funding discussions disclosed, “We have seen clear signs of pressure from the DG’s office on organizations to provide financial favours in exchange for project approvals. He claims that Minister Bashir Gobe and the Minister’s advisor, Godah Barre, have delegated him full authority, turning the Ministry into an extortion operation.”
These revelations come at a time when Somalia is grappling with the devastating effects of climate change, including severe droughts, flooding and environmental degradation that have left millions of people vulnerable. Many donors now fear that, if these funds are mismanaged, Somalia could lose vital international support at a time when climate adaptation funding is most urgently needed.
A senior diplomat working with one of the funding agencies voiced alarm over the implications of these corrupt dealings, warning, “If this corruption is allowed to continue unchecked, we risk losing global confidence in Somalia’s climate action efforts. These funds were meant to support vulnerable communities, not to be looted by a few individuals in government.”
With Somalia already plagued by multiple corruption scandals, the actions of the DG and his close associates threaten to further erode trust in the government. The misuse of donor funds – especially those allocated for climate initiatives – could have dire consequences, not only for Somalia’s environmental sustainability but also for its international standing.
In the next edition of this investigation, Shabelle Media will reveal the specific institutions targeted, the amounts requested, the interconnected network and the attempts to divert funds already in the pipeline.
