As of November this year, Somalia has received 25 forcibly deported citizens from Sweden. Of these, 14 were deported for crimes, according to figures from the Swedish Police Authority. Forcibly deported citizens to Somalia have increased in the past two years, up from six in 2023 to 29 last year.
Migration Minister Johan Forssell emphasizes that deportations are continuing, despite media reporting about the so-called "Somalia money".
We have no plans to cancel, quite the opposite, he tells TT.
It gives good results and we would like to continue.
Swedish millions
Both Ekot and DN have examined the money to Somalia. It concerns SEK 100 million in aid that has been redirected to end up closer to the Somali government, and SEK 5 million from the Ministry of Justice to pay for three positions at the Somali government office.
According to Forssell, support for the services is provided through the UN agency IOM and the purpose is stated to be to "build capacity" in Somalia regarding return.
But according to sources to DN, it is more about so-called "ghost workers", people appointed to a position without performing the work, and the money is said to have gone to three already highly paid top officials.
Want to expand
"That information is not correct. We have received reports from these services, what they are working on, various issues and results," says Forssell, without mentioning any details.
Somalia is one of the world's most corrupt countries, do you see any risk with such a setup?
We have tightened controls against corruption. We have zero tolerance, but we have no evidence that it would happen here.
If that were to happen, we would of course take action.
The government wants to condition more aid money on countries accepting more deported citizens, Forssell points out. Arrangements similar to the one with Somalia already exist with several countries, according to the Minister of Migration.
I would love to find more collaborations like this.
