IRCTS owner Abdullahi Hersi noted that although he was officially awarded the contract to process passport applications in the U.S.A., he has since “realized that both Abu Dhabi [embassy] and Dubai consulate are receiving ePassport applications from around the globe and from virtually all states and cities in the U.S.A..” He concluded: “the contract was not enforced because these overseas embassies and Mogadishu were all issuing [passports] to whoever pays them.”[178] In fact, the SEMG has learned in May 2012 that a limited number of individuals had started to directly process “online” applications through the new production centre in Mogadishu.[179]
IRCTS owner Abdullahi Hersi noted that although he was officially awarded the contract to process passport applications in the U.S.A., he has since “realized that both Abu Dhabi [embassy] and Dubai consulate are receiving ePassport applications from around the globe and from virtually all states and cities in the U.S.A..” He concluded: “the contract was not enforced because these overseas embassies and Mogadishu were all issuing [passports] to whoever pays them.”[178] In fact, the SEMG has learned in May 2012 that a limited number of individuals had started to directly process “online” applications through the new production centre in Mogadishu.[179]