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Investment Ministry hosts Turkish firm fresh from sexual harassment scandal and UN condemnation
KEY POINTS
- Somaliland’s government has held investment talks with Favori Airports, the same Turkish firm that operates the international airport in Mogadishu, a move critics argue undermines the nation’s sovereignty.
- An investigation into public records reveals Favori was not legally authorized to manage airports when it signed its Mogadishu contract in 2013, amending its corporate charter only after the deal was secured.
- A 2016 UN Security Council report described the company’s contract as a “technically poor deal” and a “case of potential abuse,” citing systematic financial manipulation.
- The company is implicated in a 2023 scandal where a senior executive, arrested in Mogadishu for sexual harassment, was released following reported political intervention and a payoff to the victim’s family.
- Favori is managed by the Kozuva family, known for its deep ties to Turkey’s ruling AKP party and President Erdoğan, whose government actively opposes Somaliland’s independence.
HARGEISA, SOMALILAND – Investment and Industry Minister Saeed Mohamed Burale rolled out the red carpet this week for executives from Turkish aviation company Favori Airports, welcoming them into government offices to discuss potential investment in Somaliland’s aviation infrastructure.
The warm reception comes despite Favori’s toxic reputation as the company behind Somalia’s airport operations, the very Favori that manages the Mogadishu Aden Ade Airport, where it stands accused of systematic corruption, labor exploitation, and covering up sexual crimes. The same firm that UN investigators condemned as running “a case of potential abuse” now sits across from Somaliland ministers discussing deals.
A Somaliland Chronicle investigation reveals the breathtaking scope of allegations against this company—from UN-documented financial theft to recent sexual harassment scandals hushed up with cash payments. The findings raise uncomfortable questions: Did anyone in government bother to Google these people before inviting them in?
THE FRAUDULENT FOUNDATION
Favori Airports didn’t earn its way into airport management—it simply declared itself qualified after the fact. The company, controlled by four brothers from the Kozuva family, had zero aviation experience when it somehow secured Somalia’s most strategic asset in 2013.
Turkish trade registry records expose the scam: the company wasn’t legally authorized to manage airports when it signed the contract in January 2013. No problem—they simply held a board meeting the next day to add “airport management” to their business activities. Corporate fraud masquerading as legitimate business.
The original company, established in 2005, focused on construction materials sales with initial capital of approximately $300,000 before expanding into airport operations.
WHEN THE UN CALLS YOU CRIMINALS
International investigators weren’t fooled by the corporate theater. A 2016 UN Monitoring Group report delivered a scathing verdict: Favori’s contract was “a technically poor deal for the FGS [federal government of Somalia] and a case of potential abuse by a private entity.”
The UN documented how Favori games the system, collecting 100% of airport revenues before inventing creative “expenses” to minimize government payments. Their favorite trick? A monthly $300,000 “depreciation deduction” that was never agreed upon—essentially stealing money through accounting manipulation.
In one example cited by the UN, Favori reported total revenue of $1.2 million for June 2016, with expenses of just over $600,000, including $300,000 in depreciation deductions, resulting in only $250,000 transferred to the government.
ONGOING FINANCIAL DISPUTES
Financial transparency remains a contentious issue. In August 2024, Somalia’s Auditor General Ahmed Issa Gutale publicly stated that Favori has failed to submit required financial reports following independent audits, making it impossible for the government to verify its share of airport revenues.
The revenue transferred to Somalia’s government during the 2022 financial year totaled $3.1 million, significantly below projections made by government financial advisors. A separate dispute has emerged over navigation fees, with the Somali Civil Aviation Authority claiming collection rights that Favori contests.
THE CASH-FOR-SILENCE SCANDAL
Fast-forward to 2024, and Favori’s ethical bankruptcy reached new depths. The company’s human resources manager, Ertuğrul Karaferiyeli, was arrested in Mogadishu on September 17 on serious charges: sexual harassment, threats, abuse of power, and labor law violations against Somali employees.
But money talks, and Turkish political muscle flexes harder. After frantic communications between Ankara and Mogadishu, Karaferiyeli walked free on October 2. The price of justice? A $20,000 payoff to silence the victim’s family. Criminal charges dropped, case closed, Turkish executive safely home.
EXPLOITING THE WORKFORCE
The Federation of Somali Trade Unions (FESTU) has documented systematic labor abuse that reads like a colonial-era exploitation manual. Workers endure grueling 11-hour shifts from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. without overtime pay, are denied mandatory weekly rest days, and face arbitrary dismissals that ignore legal procedures. When injuries occur, workers discover there are no adequate medical facilities—they’re on their own.
Most damning is Favori’s racial pay hierarchy: identical work pays differently based on your passport. Somali workers earn significantly less than their Kenyan and Turkish counterparts for the same jobs, while union organizing is crushed through intimidation and termination threats. All this for wages of $200-300 per month that union representatives call starvation pay given Somalia’s cost of living. It’s systematic exploitation dressed up as employment.
POLITICAL CONNECTIONS
The Kozuva family has maintained close relationships with Turkish political leadership. Nordic Monitor reporting indicates that Süleyman Kozuva has been frequently photographed alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and ran for mayor of Çerkezköy under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2019.
President Erdoğan personally attended the airport’s partial reopening ceremony in Mogadishu in 2015. The same group was subsequently awarded a 25-year contract to operate Turkey’s Çukurova Airport in Adana in 2020.
THE RECKONING
So here we stand: Somaliland’s Investment Ministry opens its doors to a company that the United Nations condemned as abusive, whose executive just bought his way out of sexual harassment charges, and whose business model is systematic theft disguised as airport management.
Either Minister Buraale’s office conducted zero due diligence before this meeting—a dereliction of duty that borders on malpractice—or they knew exactly who they were welcoming and proceeded anyway. Both explanations are damning.
REGIONAL CONTEXT
Turkey maintains substantial political and military support for Somalia’s federal government, which continues to claim sovereignty over Somaliland territory. Turkish companies have become major economic players in Somalia across multiple sectors, often with direct government backing from Ankara.
The timing of discussions with a Turkish company managing Somalia’s primary airport has drawn attention from observers of regional diplomatic dynamics, particularly given ongoing tensions over Somaliland’s pursuit of international recognition.
Attempt to get clarification from Ministry of Investment on the level of due diligence they have performed on Favori Airports or the extend of the discussions were unsuccessful.
