The National Anti-Money Laundering Committee and Counter Terrorism Financing Committee (NALMC) have issued a ban on betting sites, particularly 1XBET, citing major financial crimes.

During a meeting on Thursday, the committee stated that the betting site is contrary to religious values and was involved in fraudulent activities.

“The Committee has become aware of the existence of a betting company called 1XBET, where the Somali people were scammed out of huge amounts of money. 1XBET goes against our religious values and government laws and has had negative impacts on our society. Therefore, its services unconstitutional and illegal,” the statement reads.

The committee ordered all the banks in Somalia and financial services providers not to process any transactions linked to 1XBET.

“Any bank or financial services providers are ordered not to process any transactions for companies or individuals that are linked with 1XBET, which is illegal in our country.”

“All the banks or mobile money services that were previously in working relations with 1XBET are ordered to cancel those services and immediately submit their reports to the Financial Reporting Centre,” the statement added.

In August, the Federal Government of Somalia imposed bans on TikTok, 1Xbet, and Telegram within the country, a move aimed at countering and preventing the increasing indecent activities among Somali youth.

The federal government of Somalia has strengthened its efforts to curb terrorist financing and the spread of its ideologies through social media platforms.

Last month, the federal Minister of Information, Daud Aweis, announced that the government has blocked over $150 million in transactions through 368 bank accounts and 405 phones.

He added that the government has taken down 8,029 Facebook pages and profiles, 3,517 Telegram channels, 221 TikTok accounts, 4 radio stations, 12 websites, and 21 YouTube Channels that were used to spread Al-Shabaab ideologies.