Lord Howard of Lympne questioned by Serious Fraud Office in investigation into

The SFO said on Friday it’s probing the London-based company, along with Soma Oil & Gas Holdings Ltd., Soma Management Ltd. and other in “relation to allegations of corruption in Somalia”.

The oil exploration contract was the first, and so far the only one, in the country since it descended into civil war in the early 1990s.

The former Tory leader is the chairman of the board of SOMA Oil and Gas, which is the subject of a criminal investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

The Office of the Attorney General (AG) must enlist the help of the Auditor General and other government agencies and global partners in uncovering evidence of corruption by government officials regarding the Som Oil and Gas contracts and, where wrongdoings are found, must institute proper charges against all perpetrators both domestic and foreign.

Soma said in a statement Saturday the SFO is investigating “an allegation that has been made against the company”.

A diplomatic source in Nairobi told Reuters the United Nations Monitoring Group for Somalia had also been investigating Soma, focussing on its “Capacity Building Agreement” with the oil ministry.

“In a presentation to oil investors in April”, Reuters said, “Soma said that agreement would see the British company ‘support salaries for ministry staff and experts, and (… provide a) contribution towards office equipment and outfitting.'”.

“The SFO have confirmed that no suspicion whatsoever attaches to Lord Howard arising from the business of Soma and his role as a non-executive director of the company…”

“Soma Oil & Gas is confident there is no basis to the allegation and it is co-operating fully with the SFO to answer its queries”.

Soma has spent $40 million on seismic surveys of at least 60,000 square kilometers (23,166 square miles) off the Somali coast.

The Somali parliament must promptly nullify any contract signed with Soma Oil and Gas and demand the opening of an investigation of its associates and activities in Somalia.

The SFO released a statement saying whistleblowers were “valuable sources of information”.

“We can be contacted through our secure reporting channel, which can be accessed via the SFO website”.