Business Community Outraged as New Corruption Claims Hit Commerce Ministry

Somalia’s Ministry of Commerce is again confronting serious corruption allegations following new claims that senior licensing officials have demanded bribes from business owners seeking to register their companies. The allegations reinforce earlier media investigations published in 2024 and 2025, which documented a pattern of extortion within the licensing system.

In a 2024 corruption exposé, Mogadishu Business Daily reported that “licensing directors used deliberate registration delays to push applicants into illegal payment arrangements, effectively selling access to business opportunities” (Mogadishu Business Daily, Investigative Report, 12 August 2024). A widely circulated 2025 follow-up in The Somali Ledger stated that “the licensing office at the Ministry of Commerce has become a gate where economic activity is traded for cash, not regulated for public benefit” (The Somali Ledger, Special Report, 3 February 2025).

The latest accusations come from a whistleblower currently serving in the ministry. He alleges that the director of licensing and a small group of associates routinely halt applications, instructing citizens to return multiple times while claiming they are checking the availability of company names. The whistleblower described “files intentionally left untouched until applicants express desperation or agree to pay through intermediaries.”

Applicants interviewed for this report confirmed a nearly identical pattern. Although the official fee is understood to be $470, business owners said they were repeatedly sent away, sometimes four to five times, without written updates or evidence that any verification was completed.

Service limitations inside Villa Somalia worsen the situation. Registration operations reportedly begin late in the morning and end shortly after the Dhuhr prayer, leaving a narrow three to four-hour window for public assistance.

One entrepreneur, who attempted to register a small engine repair workshop, said:
“They told me to keep coming back unless I wanted it handled properly. Then someone approached me and said that if I paid, I would have my licence in two days.”

The concern is compounded by complaints that the licence issued through this process is valid only in Banadir. Other federal member states have declined to recognise the certificate, a problem that has been acknowledged before. In an earlier 2024 article, Somali Economic Review noted that “inconsistent federal recognition of commerce licences forces applicants to pay again in other regions or operate outside the law” (Somali Economic Review, Policy Watch, 19 November 2024).

The whistleblower said that he has witnessed citizens begging for progress on their paperwork:
“Some officials laugh after applicants leave, saying they will return with money next time. I could not watch it any longer.”

Civil society groups and trade associations are calling for immediate action, including:

• An independent investigation into the licensing director and his deputies
• A full audit of licences issued under the current administration
• Fraud detection analysis to identify cash-based approvals
• Suspension of officials under investigation pending the outcome

Economists and market observers warn that widespread corruption in licensing suppresses economic activity and discourages investment. A 2025 review published in Horn of Africa Markets Report warned that “Somalia cannot build a private sector on a foundation where legitimacy is purchased through bribery” (Horn of Africa Markets Report, Quarterly Analysis, March 2025).

The Ministry of Commerce has not issued a public response to the new allegations.

As one business owner put it:
“If you must pay a bribe before you have even earned your first income, how can a country grow?”

This investigation is ongoing. Further updates will be published as additional evidence becomes available.

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