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DUBAI, April 22, 2009 – The
deputy commander in chief of Dubai police has denied allegations
published in a UK-based newspaper that the emirate has been laundering
money belonging to Somali pirates. The Independent ran a story on
Tuesday claiming that huge amounts of money taken in ransom from vessels
hijacked off the Horn of Africa were being laundered in Dubai and other
Gulf countries.
The paper, quoting investigators hired by the shipping industry, said
around $80 million (£56 million) has been paid out in ransom to pirates
in the past year. The paper added that the so-called “godfathers” of the
illicit operations include businessmen from Somalia and the Middle East,
as well as people of South Asian nationalities.
Maj. Gen. Khamis Mattar Al-Mazinah gave a statement to the Arabic daily
Al-Emarat Al-Youm saying the report was baseless and untrue.
He stressed that the UAE is the only country in the region that has
prosecuted money launderers and issued rulings against them. He pointed
out that in the UAE any amount over 40,000 dirhams is considered
questionable until proven otherwise.
The Independent quoted Christopher Ledger, manager of Royal Marine
Company, as saying that “there is evidence that those groups are active
in Dubai and play a fundamental role in the piracy taking place in the
Horn of Africa. Huge amounts of money the pirates receive facilitate
their access to the latest technology when it comes to ransoms.”
The report added that while some of the money has ended up in Somalia,
millions have been laundered through bank accounts in the UAE and other
parts of the Middle East.
Al-Mazinah noted that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — an
inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion
of policies, both at national and international levels, to combat money
laundering and terrorist financing — includes the UAE.
FATF issues periodic reports about countries that do not cooperate in
monitoring money laundering. “We did not receive any report about money
laundering taking place in the UAE,” Al-Mazinah said. He added that
Dubai police have been cooperating with other countries in detecting
money laundering and fraud that have taken place in those countries.
Al-Mazinah said certain parties, which he declined to mention, were
targeting the UAE’s reputation by disseminating unfounded rumors. He
reiterated that there are competent authorities tasked with holding
noncooperating countries accountable and that the media is not among
those authorities.
He underlined that Dubai police did not bar any journalist or any media
outlet from seeking verification of stories before publication. He added
that people are at liberty to log into the FATF website to read reports
about the UAE before propagating rumors.
The Independent published its report without any comments from the
security authorities in Dubai or from the UAE Central Bank.
Source: Arab News, April 22, 2009
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