Economic Crime: United Arab Emirates
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, a) how many asset recovery cases involving cooperation with the United Arab Emirates have resulted in funds being returned to UK victims since 2020; b) what metrics are used to measure the operational effectiveness of the UK–UAE illicit finance partnership; and c) whether that partnership is being applied to support recovery in cases including the High Court judgment in Njord Partners SMA-Seal LP & ors v Astir Maritime & ors [2024].
Answered by Dan Jarvis
The UK–UAE Partnership to Tackle Illicit Financial Flows is focused on strengthening how we work together on illicit finance, fraud and asset recovery, including the return of the proceeds of crime.
Since it was established in 2021, the UK and the UAE have worked closely to improve cooperation between our law enforcement agencies, to share information more effectively, and to put in place stronger arrangements to support joint operational work.
The effectiveness of the partnership and these objectives are kept under regular review through established operational and governance arrangements that support this cooperation.
Decisions on asset sharing are taken on a case‑by‑case basis. Asset sharing allows recovered funds to be shared with other jurisdictions where there has been joint effort to recover criminal proceeds, and helps to encourage continued international cooperation in this area.
The UK publishes annual statistics on domestic and international asset recovery through the Asset Recovery Annual Statistical Bulletin, which includes data on completed international asset sharing arrangements. The Home Office is not able to comment on, or make assessments in relation to, individual cases.
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