U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) faces renewed criticism over her push to ease money transfers to Somalia as a political action committee backing her Republican opponent highlights that record amid Minnesota’s taxpayer fraud scandals.
Restore Sanity PAC, which supports Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) for governor, is drawing attention to Klobuchar’s remittance advocacy through resurfaced footage and a campaign advertisement.
In a video that Somali TV of Minnesota uploaded on February 27, 2017, Klobuchar discusses her work with then-U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and then-U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) on transfers to Somalia.
Klobuchar described efforts to “reduce the redundant regulations on remittances to Somalia,” Alpha News reported in its August 19 coverage of the footage.
“We have more to do, but we will continue to fight for you,” she said.
The push to keep transfers moving
Klobuchar co-sponsored the Senate companion to the Money Remittances Improvement Act of 2014. President Barack Obama signed the House version into law on August 8, 2014.
The law allowed the Treasury Department to rely on qualifying state examinations of financial institutions, reducing duplicative oversight. It did not repeal federal anti-money-laundering requirements.
Klobuchar also joined lawmakers seeking an emergency solution after Merchants Bank of California stopped processing Somali remittances in February 2015 amid regulatory concerns about money laundering and terrorist financing, American Banker reported at the time. The lawmakers argued that cutting off the transfers threatened families who depended on the money for basic needs.
PAC presses the issue as fraud cases mount
Restore Sanity’s advertisement criticizes Klobuchar’s efforts to keep transfers moving and alleges that fraud money flowed overseas, potentially reaching suspected terrorists.
The records reviewed for this article do not establish that Klobuchar’s advocacy caused the fraud or financed terrorism.
Federal authorities have scrutinized money-transfer businesses as part of the broader fraud crackdown. Treasury announced on January 9 that its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network had issued four notices of investigation to Minnesota money services businesses. It also ordered additional reporting on certain international transfers from Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
In the Feeding Our Future case, a federal jury convicted founder Aimee Bock and co-defendant Salim Said in March 2025 for their roles in a $250 million child nutrition fraud scheme. Prosecutors said participants spent stolen funds on luxury goods and real estate, including property in Kenya and Turkey.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, additional federal cases have targeted alleged fraud involving housing stabilization, autism services and other taxpayer-funded programs in Minnesota.
Klobuchar’s campaign defended the remittance legislation’s bipartisan backing when Alpha News asked about the resurfaced video in August. A spokesperson pointed to Republican co-sponsors Sean Duffy and Erik Paulsen and to Tom Emmer’s support for remittances. The outlet reported that the spokesperson did not answer its questions about whether Klobuchar’s position had changed or about concerns over terrorist financing.
