DUBAI, 3 July 2006 — Britain and other West European countries are the main sources of drug money laundered in the United Arab Emirates, Sultan ibn Nasser Al-Suwaidi, the governor of the UAE Central Bank, said yesterday.
“Drug money comes from developed Western (European) countries ... American drug money does not come here, it goes to South America ... Some of the dirty money that comes here is made in Britain,” Al-Suwaidi told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting on combating money laundering in Al-Ain.
The drug money “goes into banking and wire transfers,” he said.
Al-Suwaidi said that the strong economic ties between the UAE and Britain allow such transactions to seep through.
“There are over 100,000 British nationals living in the UAE. ... It’s related to business activities,” he said, referring to what he termed “bad money” filtering through business deals.
Al-Suwaidi would not provide figures for the amount of money reportedly laundered in the UAE, but he underlined his country’s determination to stamp out such activities.
“The UAE is applying all anti-money laundering international agreements... We have very tight rules,” he said.
The meeting was attended by a delegation from Britain’s Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA), a law enforcement agency whose remit includes handling financial intelligence on the suspected proceeds of crime in order to battle money laundering.
Emirati and British officials expressed determination to build up a systematic framework for cooperation in curbing money laundering, terrorism financing, and other money-related crimes. Mechanisms for upgrading the existing systems in both countries were also discussed.
— With input from agencies
