British government report: The UAE involved in money laundering and facilitating criminal networks
A British government report exposed the UAE’s involvement in money laundering and granting criminal networks facilities, including terrorist financing.
The United Kingdom’s Home Office and Treasury recently classified the UAE as a jurisdiction vulnerable to money laundering by criminal networks.
The Ministry confirmed that there are loopholes that have turned the UAE into a haven for criminal organizations that comfortably operate their work.
The authorities criticized the ease with which gold and cash could be transported across the country, and suspicious financial transactions were recorded.
The latest report on national risk assessment, money laundering and terrorism 2020 stressed the need to highlight, research and investigate more suspicious financial transactions in the UAE.
Terrorist Financing
The report was submitted to Parliament under Article 16 of the Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Money Transfer Act.
The report revealed that the UAE has been classified as an attractive location for anyone wishing to launder the proceeds of crime from abroad.
He stressed that a number of foreign nationals residing or dealing in the UAE are using its systems to evade international supervision and follow-up.
The British document was signed by James Brockenshire, UK Secretary of Security, and John Glenn, Economic Secretary of the Treasury.
The document stated that the UAE was recently subject to a mutual evaluation by the FATF.
Suspicious Transactions
The London report exposed the secrets of the world of crime and money laundering in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and their gradual transformation into a “suspicious transaction paradise”.
The British authorities deepened the extent of identifying the Financial Action Task Force, the recorded weaknesses, and placed the UAE under surveillance.
The report stressed that the inspection revealed shortcomings in this country and other capitals, in which suspicious financial transactions are still popular.
The British report exposed the UAE, and how criminal networks exploit its laws to transfer suspicious money, gold and jewellery, between the Emirates and outside the country.
Money Laundering
The report emphasized that other loopholes were recorded in the UAE, as criminal groups contribute to engaging in money laundering and accessing a property in Abu Dhabi.
The British also focused on the risks related to crypto assets, which are being exploited by criminal organizations from the UAE.
The British focus on the UAE came from London’s desire to fight organized crime, track suspicious money paths, and prevent it from entering the United Kingdom.
The report revealed that the United Kingdom is globally at the forefront in tackling money laundering and terrorist financing.
Whereas, in 2018 it achieved the best rating of any country so far evaluated in this round of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) ratings.
The report indicated that this position necessitates that the British deal firmly with suspicious countries or whose laws provide a haven.
The British report comes months after another report published by Transparency International.
Major Corruption Scandals
The report emphasized that the recent Financial Action Task Force report on money laundering and terrorist financing in the UAE confirms its link to major cross-border corruption scandals.
The Amnesty report indicated that the former Angolan president’s daughter had smuggled millions of state funds to Dubai at the beginning of this year.
It also added that the “messy approach” of registering companies in the UAE makes it difficult for the authorities to know who is behind the fake companies in them.
The real estate sector in the UAE also allows people to take advantage of the complex property system to purchase real estate and conceal their identities and money sources.
A Haven for Criminals
The report added that the UAE authorities do not cooperate with international partners, making it a centre of attraction and a haven for criminals.
The report confirmed that the global body concerned with controlling illegal funds would place the UAE under surveillance for a year.
It explained that if the UAE failed to improve the anti-money laundering mechanism, it might find itself on the side of countries such as Syria, Yemen and Pakistan, which suffer from “strategic deficiencies,” according to the organization.
These reports follow a similar report published at the end of last April by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Who confirmed that the UAE is not doing enough to prevent money laundering, despite its recent progress.
