Astaan TV CEO Arrested For Money Laundering & Militant Ties

Intelligence services operating in Northern Somalia’s autonomous Somaliland region have arrested the prominent media mogul and CEO of Astaan TV, Abdimanan Yusuf in the city of Hargeysa.

Sources that spoke with Halgan Media on condition of anonymity reveal Abdimanan Yusuf was picked up by local intelligence services for laundering money sent over from the Gulf state of Qatar, which was to be transferred to the Al Aqaeda affiliated armed group Al Shabaab and the Somali-ISIS faction based in the mountainous Bari region of Puntland state.

Somaliland’s intelligence apparatus had been monitoring Abdimanan Yusuf for a number of months and Astaan TV was used by Abdimnan as a “front” to cover up his tracks and carry out his rogue activities according to security sources with intricate knowledge on the matter.

Who is Abdimanan Yusuf ?

Abdimanan Yusuf appeared on the radar of a number of countries in the Horn of Africa for suspected militant ties, particularly Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

Photo : Abdimanan Yusuf

In 2009 Abdimanan was detained and arrested in the city of Jigjiga in the Ogaden region. During his arrest in Jigjiga, Abdimanan was returning from Sudan where he lived at the time and was a student.

The exact length of time Abdimanan remained detained in Jigjiga remains a mystery. However what’s for sure is that prior to his arrest he was in contact with Hassan Afgooye.

Hassan Afgooye is a senior Al Shabaab figure that oversees financial operations for the group and has had a five million dollar US bounty on his head for a number of years.

Both Abdimanan Yusuf and Hassan Afgooye once lived together in the Barmuudo neighborhood in Mogadishu’s Hodan district.

Abdimanan was introduced to Hassan Afgooye by Engineer Abdillahi Osman, that hails from the Xawaadle clan and later studied with Abdimanan Yusuf at the Red Sea University, situated in the eastern Sudanese city of Port Sudan.

Security sources have informed the Halgan Media service desk that Astaan TV is expected have its doors closed and media license revoked, followed by official terrorism and money laundering charges on Abdimanan Yusuf in the coming days.

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