Tax evasion - Dealing with the Shabab's funding

Most of southern Somalia is now under the control of militant Islamist groups, leading to growing international concern that the country is becoming a jihadist safe haven that Al-Qaeda and its local ally the Shabab can use to train militants and stage international attacks. It has consequently become increasingly important for the international community to understand how the Shabab is financing itself if it is to succeed in depriving the group of the resources that have underpinned its territorial expansion.

Western governments are beginning to tackle the Shabab's international support networks in a bid to prevent them from sending fighters and money to Somalia. However, terrorism financing cases are difficult to prosecute, so some governments have increased their scrutiny of companies transferring money to Somalia in a bid to stop willing and unwitting members of the Somali diaspora giving donations to the Shabab.

Meanwhile, efforts to prevent the Shabab from exploiting the humanitarian aid distributed in Somalia have thrown up a new dilemma. While it may seem logical to discontinue aid to Shabab-controlled areas, this would undermine humanitarian efforts and the Shabab could exploit the potentially grave consequences to rally anti-Western sentiment.