UAE plots to harm Qatar’s economy

The Financial Conduct Authority in the UK has formally accused Havilland Bank of involvement with the UAE sovereign fund to harm the Qatari economy and its ability to host the 2022 World Cup.

The Luxembourg-based Havilland SA bank, which counts Britain’s Prince Andrew as one of its clients, has received a warning notice from the UK’s financial regulator regarding its alleged role in the UAE-led economic boycott of Qatar.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority said the bank had given inappropriate advice in a presentation outlining manipulative trading practices on Qatari bonds. It added that the offer “could harm the Qatari economy.”

The report confirmed that Havilland Bank told the court during the litigation with the Qatari state in 2020 that it was cooperating with the British financial regulator, noting that “in a civil lawsuit, Qatar accused the lender of orchestrating a financial attack to destabilize the riyal.”

According to the report, a lawyer working for Qatar said last month that the case was settled “on a confidential basis”.

In turn, the Financial Conduct Authority said that “the presentation prepared for the CEO of the UAE sovereign fund provided details of an attempt to drain Qatar’s reserves and harm its ability to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.”

“In creating and publishing the presentation, Bank of Havilland exposed itself to risks that could be used for further financial crime,” the FCA said in its notice.

In April 2019, Qatar filed lawsuits in New York and London to take legal measures against financial institutions that manipulated the Qatari currency, the riyal, bonds issued by the State of Qatar and related financial instruments.

One of these lawsuits was filed against Bank Havilland in the British capital, London, for its role in designing a plan to attack Qatar’s currency and financial markets.

Economists confirm that the conspiracy to destabilize the Qatari currency and the Qatari economy is not new, stressing that Qatar has been subjected to an economic war aimed at destabilizing the currency and hitting the national economy.

The experts said that planning and conspiracy by the UAE to destabilize the currency and economy of a sovereign country by a sovereign country is an act of economic war, noting that it is financial terrorism practised under the auspices of Abu Dhabi.

This aimed to destabilize Qatar’s economy, push for capital flight, deplete sovereign reserves and destabilize the economy, and this may extend to destabilizing social and political stability. Rather, it was hoped to threaten national security and collapse the system.

It is noteworthy that in June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a blockade against Qatar that ended early last year. The four countries took several other measures to destroy the state and its economy and harm its citizens. As a result, Qatar has taken several legal actions before the International Court of Justice, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Trade Organization.