British report: United Arab Emirates accused of money laundering and granting facilities to criminals

The United Kingdom's Ministry of Interior and Treasury recently classified the United Arab Emirates as a jurisdiction vulnerable to money laundering by criminal networks, and emphasized the existence of loopholes that have turned the Gulf state into a haven for criminal organizations operating in Jericho.

The authorities criticized the ease with which gold and money could be transferred across the country, and the recording of suspicious financial transactions. The latest report on national risk assessment, money laundering and terrorism 2020 stressed the need to highlight, research and investigate more suspicious financial transactions taking place in the UAE.

The report was submitted to Parliament in accordance with article 16 of the Law on money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and Transfer of funds.

The British report, a copy of which was read by Al Quds Al Arabi, revealed that the Arab Emirates was classified as an attractive site for anyone who wants to wash the proceeds of crime from abroad, and emphasized that a number of foreign citizens living or working in the UAE exploit its systems to get out of the international supervision.

The report revealed that the United Arab Emirates was classified as an attractive site for anyone who wants to wash the proceeds of crime from abroad

The British document signed by James Brookshire, UK Security Secretary, and John Glenn, Treasury Secretary, pointed out that the UAE was recently subject to mutual evaluation by the Financial Action Group. The London report identified the tradeoff of the Abu Dhabi and Dubai crime and money laundering worlds, and gradually transformed them into the suspicious transactions Commission.” The British authorities have complicated the identification of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the reported weaknesses, and the United Arab Emirates has been placed under surveillance.

The report, which analyzed “Arab Jerusalem” data, emphasized that the preview revealed deficiencies in that country and in other capitals, in which suspicious transactions were still in the making. The British report described the UAE, and how criminal networks exploit the advantages of their laws, in order to transfer suspicious money, and other transfers such as gold and jewelry, between the UAE and abroad. The report confirmed that there are other loopholes registered on the United Arab Emirates, as criminal groups contribute to the involvement in money laundering and access to properties in the United Arab Emirates.

The British also focused on the risks related to the encrypted assets, exploited by criminal organizations from the UAE. The UK's focus on the UAE came out of London's desire to fight organized crime, track suspicious money, and prevent it from entering the UK. The report revealed that the UK is at the forefront of countering money laundering and terrorist financing globally; in 2018 it achieved the best rating from any country assessed so far in this round of FATF assessments. The report added that this position makes it necessary for the British to deal firmly with the countries that are suspected or whose laws provide a safe refuge, and therefore he works closely with Abu Dhabi to help them carry out reforms of its laws.

The British report comes months after another report published by transparency International, in which it revealed that the United Arab Emirates is considered a part of an international system for money laundering, confirming that the recent financial work group report on money laundering and terrorism financing in the United Arab Emirates confirms its link to big corruption scandals across borders. The report of "Al-Amanestsi" pointed out that the daughter of former Angolan president, millions of the country's money, were smuggled to Dubai at the beginning of this year. What he called the “messy approach” to registering companies in the UAE makes it difficult for the authorities to know who is behind the fictitious companies. The UAE's real estate sector also allows people to benefit from the complex property system to buy real estate and hide their identities and sources of funds.