موقع إخباري يهتم بفضائح و انتهاكات دولة الامارات

UAE invests millions to distort the image of Qatar

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Center for International Policy revealed that the ruling regime in the Emirates paid millions of dollars to lobbyists in the United States of America to distort the image of Qatar.

Ben Friedman, director of the Transparency Initiative for Foreign Influence at the centre, said that the UAE sought to discredit Qatar through illegal influence on lobbyists.

Friedman explained that the UAE has carried out several secret campaigns that included paying for the events of think tanks critical of Qatar.

He revealed that the UAE funded a secret campaign worth $2.5 million to persuade members of Congress to take a hard line on Qatar.

Friedman stated that the illegal Emirati donations initially focused on making contributions and reaching Hillary’s presidential campaign. However, after former US President Donald Trump’s election victory, the UAE’s focus quickly shifted to him, starting with an illegal donation of $1 million for his inauguration.

He revealed that Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed oversaw the distribution of $3.5 million in illegal donations between 2016 and 2018 to gain influence in Washington through George Nader and others.

The Financial Times newspaper revealed that the first request from the UAE to its former man in the White House, Tom Barrack, who is currently on trial on charges of working for the Gulf state, was to push the Trump administration to classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

Barrack, 74, faces charges of illegally working for the UAE, conspiracy and obstruction of justice, and making multiple false statements to the FBI during a 2019 interview.

The indictment, submitted by the US Department of Justice, included two other defendants Matthew Grimes, 27 years, an employee of the investment company owned by Barrack, and Rashid Al-Malik, 43 years old, an Emirati, who was considered the link between Mohammed bin Zayed and Barak.

The newspaper pointed out that the UAE’s request to classify the Muslim Brotherhood came only three days after Trump’s inauguration on January 23, 2017.

A British woman said that Al-Malik suggested to Grimes, Barack’s aide, the possibility of classifying the Muslim Brotherhood on the US terrorism list, describing it as a “great opportunity.”

Al-Malik explained that this move would cut off funding for the Brotherhood, which participates in governments in the Middle East. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi considers a severe threat to the Middle East region.

According to the newspaper, Al-Malik said: “This would be a great victory if we classify them,” referring to his proposal to classify the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

Al-Malik commented, referring to the Brotherhood: “And they deserve this,” that is, their inclusion on terrorist lists.

The newspaper pointed out that despite the Trump administration’s thinking about the Emirati proposal against the Brotherhood – through its man in the White House – it did not classify the group on the list of terrorism.

Barrack was arrested in Los Angeles last Tuesday. Seven charges related to employment for the UAE was charged against him between April 2016 and April 2018.

On Friday, the authorities released Barrack on bail of $250 million before a federal judge ordered that he wear a GPS ankle bracelet and impose a curfew and a travel ban.

Judge Barak also ordered him not to spend more than $50,000 at a time and banned him from transferring any money abroad.