IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
HARBI HUSSEIN, on behalf of himself and as a representative of the ESTATE OF SAADO ALI WARSAME,
Plaintiff,
v.
DAHABSHIIL TRANSFER SERVICES LTD., DAHABSHIL, INC., DAHAB-SHIL, INC. and DAHABSHIIL PVT.
Defendants.
Civil Action No.:
COMPLAINT
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

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Plaintiff Harbi Hussein (“Plaintiff”), by and through his attorneys, allege the following against Defendants Dahabshiil Transfer Services Ltd., Dahabshil, Inc., Dahab-shil, Inc. and Dahabshiil PVT (collectively “Defendants” or “Dahabshiil”):
NATURE OF THE ACTION
1. This is a lawsuit against an international money transfer company, Dahabshiil, that provided financial support to al-Shabaab, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, and to the al-Shabaab operatives who assassinated Saado Ali Warsame.
Saado Ali Warsame
2. Saado Ali Warsame was born in Somalia in 1950. By the time she was a teenager, Ms. Warsame had become famous throughout Somalia for her singing and especially her songs about human rights and social justice. She stood up to tyranny, corruption, injustice and nepotism during Siad Barre’s military regime with songs and poetry. Her famous song “Land Cruiser,” which ridiculed the military junta for exchanging donations of corn for expensive cars, led to Ms. Warsame’s arrest and is largely credited for taking down the Barre regime. She was one of the few Somali female musicians to go on stage without covering her
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head and she sometimes wore pants, which is unusual for women in Somalia.
3. In the early 1990s, when Somalia devolved into civil war, Ms. Warsame moved to
the United States. She lived in New York, where her son Harbi was born, and then moved to Minneapolis. She returned to her homeland of Somalia in 2012 to run for office, and was elected to the Somali Federal Parliament, representing northeastern Puntland.
4. Dahabshiil has for some time been closely associated with al-Shabaab, and it is a longtime financial supporter of the group and its terrorist activities. For example, according to a United Nations report, Dahabshiil financed “a large scale assassination operation” in Mogadishu by the Amniyat, al-Shabaab’s elite intelligence unit, which involved a “wave of assassinations of national intelligence officers and members of the Federal parliament.”1
5. One of Ms. Warsame’s better known songs was a protest against Dahabshiil and its support of al-Shabaab. The song, called “Dhiigshiil ha dhigan,” contains a play on words. The name of the defendant, “Dahabshiil,” means “gold smelter.” Ms. Warsame changed this to “Dhiigshiil,” which means “blood smelter.” The translation of the title is “Don’t Do Business With The Blood Smelter.” The lyrics she sang include these:
They call him “Blood Smelter” to manipulate the public
He has lot of money to make sure Mogadishu will never be at peace He is the enemy of Somalia
Somalis, do not deposit your money to his banks
He is real tribalism; he is destroying our land
The money he is making from us will kill our children
Somalis, do not deposit your money to his banks
1 Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea pursuant to Security Council resolution 2060 (2012): Somalia, available at: http://repository.un.org/bitstream/handle/11176/ 24077/S_2013_413-EN.pdf (last checked December 1, 2015).
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The music video for this song includes images of Ms. Warsame singing.
It also includes images of protesters holding a sign that reads “Dhiigshiil Stop Genocide,” with a photograph of Ms. Warsame inset on the screen.
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Ms. Warsame’s music video also includes a graphic showing the defendants’ name, “Dahabshiil,” dripping with blood, under an assault rifle, with the word “Dhiigshiil” (blood smelter) underneath.
6. In response to her song, “Don’t Do Business With The Blood Smelter,” Dahabshiil placed a multi-million dollar bounty on Ms. Warsame’s life.
7. On July 23, 2014, during the holy month of Ramadan, Ms. Warsame was murdered by two al-Shabaab operatives. She was being driven to her hotel in Mogadishu’s Hodan district when two gunmen pulled up to her car in a drive-by attack and opened fire. Ms. Warsame and her driver were both killed.
8. Abdulaziz Abu Musab, the spokesman for al-Shabaab’s military operations, claimed responsibility for the assassination of Ms. Warsame on behalf of al-Shabaab. Two al- Shabaab operatives – Shu’ayb Ibrahim Mahdi, 27 and Farah Ali Abdi, 30 – were convicted of killing Ms. Warsame by a Somali court. They were sentenced to death and executed in May 2015.
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Shu’ayb Ibrahim Mahdi and Farah Ali Abdi, the al-Shabaab Operatives Who Killed Saado Ali Warsame
9. Ms. Warsame’s son, Harbi Hussein, is a citizen of the United States domiciled in the State of Minnesota. He brings this lawsuit on behalf of himself and as a representative of the estate of his mother Saado Ali Warsame, also a U.S. citizen. The murder of his mother by international terrorists has caused him severe mental anguish, extreme emotional pain and suffering, and the loss of his mother’s society, companionship, comfort, advice and counsel. He alleges that Dahabshiil’s provision of material support to al-Shabaab, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, constitutes an act of international terrorism in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§§ 2339A-2339C, for which he seeks treble damages under 18 U.S.C. § 2333(a).
PARTIES
10. Plaintiff Harbi Hussein is a citizen of the United States domiciled in the State of Minnesota. He brings this lawsuit on behalf of himself and as a representative of the estate of his mother Saado Ali Warsame, also a U.S. citizen.
11. Upon information and belief, Dahabshiil Transfer Services Ltd. is a funds transfer 5

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company organized under the laws of the United Kingdom and headquartered in London, UK. 12. Upon information and belief, Dahabshil, Inc. is a funds transfer company
incorporated in the State of Georgia and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. At all times relevant to this Complaint, Dahabshil, Inc. was controlled by and acted as the agent of Dahabshiil Transfer Services Ltd.
13. Upon information and belief, Dahab-shil Inc. is a funds transfer company incorporated in the State of Minnesota and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At all times relevant to this Complaint, Dahab-shil, Inc. was controlled by and acted as the agent of Dahabshiil Transfer Services Ltd.
14. Upon information and belief, Dahabshiil PVT is a funds transfer company organized under the laws of Somalia and headquartered in Hargeisa, Somalia. At all times relevant to this Complaint, Dahabshiil PVT was controlled by and acted as the agent of Dahabshiil Transfer Services Ltd.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
15. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 1331 and 18 U.S.C. § 2333(a) as a civil action brought by a citizen of the United States injured by reason of an act of international terrorism and the estate, survivor, or heir of a United States citizen injured by reason of an act of international terrorism.
16. Venue is proper in this district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) because a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claims in this action occurred in this district and Defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction in this district.
17. Defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction pursuant to CPLR § 302. Dahabshiil repeatedly, regularly and deliberately transacted business in New York through a
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I.
correspondent bank account that it used to transfer funds to al-Shabaab. Plaintiff’s claims arise from these transactions. This course of dealing shows a purposeful availment of New York’s dependable and transparent banking system and the predictable jurisdictional and commercial law of New York.
ALLEGATIONS Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen
18. In the wake of the collapse of Siad Barre’s military dictatorship in 1991, Somalia devolved into failed state overcome by a civil war that has lasted to this day.
19. In the midst of the power vacuum that followed Barre’s ouster, Osama bin Laden provided substantial funding to a militant group called al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (the “Islamic Union” or “AIAI”). AIAI’s aim was to establish an Islamic regime in Somalia, and it regularly carried out bombings, kidnappings and other types of terrorist attacks to that end. AIAI established control in strategic locations in Somalia, where it implemented a strict version of Sharia law.
20. AIAI went on to support the al-Qaeda operatives who carried out the bombing attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998.
21. In 2001, AIAI was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. government, along with its leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys. AIAI dissolved shortly thereafter, but Aweys and other AIAI members went on to form a successor organization called the Islamic Courts Union (the “ICU”).
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Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys
22. The ICU, a system of Sharia courts that sought to encourage stability by punishing wrongdoers with stonings, challenged the Transitional Federal Government (“TFG”) of Somalia with the support of its formidable militia. The ICU was led by a Shura council chaired by Aweys. By 2006, the ICU controlled most of southern Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu. After just six months, however, the ICU was routed by Ethiopian forces and most of its members were dispersed.
23. Thereafter, a core of approximately 33 members of the ICU radical and militant youth wing coalesced to form a new organization called Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (“al- Shabaab” or “HSM”), meaning “Jihadist Youth Movement.” By 2009, under the guidance of founder Sheikh Mukhtar Abu Zubair (better known as Ahmed Abdi Godane), and spiritual leader Aweys, al-Shabaab had grown rapidly to at least 5,000 members, controlling an area equal to the size of Denmark and half the Somali population. By 2014, al-Shabaab had an estimated 7,000 to 9,000 fighters.
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Ahmed Abdi Godane
24. Like its predecessor organizations, al-Shabaab’s goal is the violent overthrow of the Somali federal government. To that end, it has carried out numerous terrorist attacks using guerilla warfare tactics, beheadings, amputations, suicide bombings, mortars, bomb-laden automobiles, roadside explosives and shootings. Al-Shabaab has been responsible for spectacular incidents like the September 2013 attack at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya in which at least 67 were killed and more than another 175 wounded, as well as the targeted assassinations of aid workers, journalists and prominent politicians like Saado Ali Warsame.
25. On February 26, 2008, the U.S. Department of State designated al-Shabaab as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (“FTO”) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and, on February 29, 2008, al-Shabaab was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity under Executive Order 13224. These designations remain in effect as of this date. Under these designations, al-Shabaab is also known as: al-Shabaab al-Islaam; al-Shabaab al-Islamiya; al-Shabaab al-Jihaad; Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujaahidiin; Harakat Shabab al- Mujahidin; Harakatul-Shabaab al-Mujaahidiin; Hisb’ul Shabaab; Hizbul Shabaab; Mujaahidiin Youth Movement; Mujahideen Youth Movement; Mujahidin al-Shabaab Movement; Mujahidin Youth Movement; Shabaab; MYM; The Unity of Islamic Youth; The Youth; and “Youth Wing.”
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26. On or about November 20, 2008, the U.S. Department of State also designated Godane as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The designation includes the following names: Aw-Mohamed, Ahmed Abdi; Abuzubair, Muktar Abdulrahim; Aw Mohammed, Ahmed Abdi; “Abu Zubeyr”; “Godane”; “Godani”; “Shaykh Mukhtar.” This designation was in effect through Godane’s death on September 1, 2014 when he was killed in a U.S. military targeted airstrike.
27. In 2009, following the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia, al-Shabaab revealed an even more ambitious and extremist agenda. Godane issued a video in which he publicly pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden, and later released a statement that al-Shabaab had “agreed to join the international jihad of al-Qaeda.” Al-Qaeda’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri also released a video statement confirming an affiliation with al-Shabaab.