Following on from the signature
in December 2006 of bilateral
treaties between the UAE
and Britain on Extradition, Mutual
Legal Assistance and Judicial
Cooperation in December 2006,
Britain's Paymaster-General, Dawn
Primarolo visited Abu Dhabi in late
January to discuss cooperation in
the fight against organised crime and
money laundering.
Setting the stage for the detailed
discussions, she met with the Minister
of the Interior, H.H. General Sheikh
Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, while further
talks were held with H.E. Sultan bin
Nasser Al Suwaidi, Governor of the
Central Bank, Mohammed Khalifa bin
Fahed Al Muhairi, Director General of
the Federal Customs Authority, General
Dhahi Khalfan Al Tamimi, Commandant
General of Dubai Police, Essam Essa
Al Humaidan, Attorney General of
Dubai, and Yousef Hassan, Prosecutor-
General, Dubai.
In a statement to the Emiirates News
Agency, WAM, after her talks, the
Paymaster-General
said: "I greatly
appreciate the
close operational
cooperation
between the law
enforcement
authorities of our
two countries. This
has resulted in
significant progress
in tackling the problems of organised
crime and money laundering, which we
both face."
She added: "I look forward to
further deepening this cooperation
and have instructed my officials to
work ever more closely with their
UAE counterparts."
While no details of the talks
between Primarolo and local officials
were released, quite naturally, Britain
and the UAE have been collaborating
closely to stamp out the so-called
'carousel fraud', which involves
criminals in the UK making use to
alleged shipments to and from the
Emirates to avoid paying VAT. Up to 90
per cent of the revenues generated by
carousel fraud in the UK is believed to
relate to the UAE, although as noted
elsewhere in this issue of Capital
Letter, ('An Embassy Viewpoint'),
a dramatic fall in the total of British
'exports' to Dubai is believed to be
linked to the fact that this criminal
activity has now been brought under
control.
The new treaties allow for the
extradition of persons suspected of
criminal activity in Britain, but resident
in the UAE, to be extradited to face
trial in Britain, as well as vice versa.
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Following on from the signature
in December 2006 of bilateral
treaties between the UAE
and Britain on Extradition, Mutual
Legal Assistance and Judicial
Cooperation in December 2006,
Britain's Paymaster-General, Dawn
Primarolo visited Abu Dhabi in late
January to discuss cooperation in
the fight against organised crime and
money laundering.
