'Net is tightening' on international criminals, says Ireland's Justice Minister in the UAE

A new extradition treaty between the UAE and Ireland signals the “net is tightening” on criminal gangs that operate across borders, a senior Irish minister has said.

Helen McEntee, Ireland’s Minister for Justice, said the agreement meant there were now “fewer and fewer” places for criminals to hide.

Speaking to The National as Ireland and the UAE signed landmark deals on extradition and mutual legal assistance, Ms McEntee said anyone who thinks they can “inflict misery” at home and then move away and live with impunity is mistaken.

"My objective and our government objective is to make sure that, irrespective of where you go, we can bring you back home to face justice at home,” Ms McEntee said on Monday. “I think this certainly tightens the net … and I think it sends a very clear message.”

The two agreements bolster co-operation between Ireland and the UAE in tackling international crime that traverses borders. It comes after more than a year of negotiations and Ms McEntee said both countries worked “really closely” to bring them to a conclusion.

She said they both have an ambition to tackle organised crime and “make sure that any person who has committed a serious crime or who is involved in organised crime, that they cannot flee their country and that they can't evade justice”.

The treaties were formally signed in Abu Dhabi on Monday between Ms McEntee and Abdullah Al Nuaimi, the UAE Minister of Justice, and it is hoped both will be put into effect “soon”. The extradition deal is one of only four agreements that Ireland had in place globally – along with Hong Kong, the US and Canada – and is aimed to make any extradition process faster and more efficient.

“There are very serious criminals who feel that they can evade the law simply by crossing barriers and moving to other countries,” Ms McEntee said. “I don't want that to be the case. I want them to come home to face justice here [Ireland].”

Kinahan organisation

Earlier this month, police in the UAE detained Irish citizen Sean McGovern, who is wanted in Ireland on charges relating to a murder and directing the Kinahan organised crime gang. The arrest follows the publication of an Interpol red notice.

Mr McGovern is one of the seven senior figures in the Kinahan group named and placed under sanctions by the US authorities. The UAE in 2022 froze assets related to the group.

When asked if the treaty signed on Monday was aimed at the Kinahans, Ms McEntee said she would not discuss individual cases, but added that the rules "would apply to everybody".

"I won't get into details but we know that there are some significant figures here and some significant family members here," she said. "This really will apply to everybody and I hope it sends a very strong message to everybody that they won't be able to disobey the law.

“We're talking about people here who have caused nothing but misery, nothing but misery in the communities that they're supposed to be from and a part of and it is my intention that anybody who has caused this misery, that they're home and that they face the courts at home.”

Mr McGovern, meanwhile, will be held in the UAE pending extradition proceedings.

Ms McEntee said the McGovern case, while again not wanting to get into specifics, had already started and so did not fall under Monday's treaty. "That won't apply to this ... that process has started [and] will be separate to this," she said of the case. “Once this [treaty] is fully agreed, signed and in place, it will apply to any cases beyond that.”

When also asked if the landmark agreement might mean criminal elements could flee jurisdictions, Ms McEntee said it was hard to anticipate, but the agreement was geared towards making it difficult for people to break the law.

She said it was a “shared interest and a shared objective” between Ireland and the UAE to make sure that anybody who disobeys the law is brought to justice.

The extradition treaty works both ways, but Irish citizens would not face extradition to the UAE under the deal and neither would Emiratis in the UAE to Ireland. It means that, if the Irish director of public prosecution decides there is a case against someone, the Garda Siochana (Irish police) can seek an arrest warrant and they could potentially be brought back to face the courts.

The deal on mutual legal assistance relates to co-operation if there is a prosecution ongoing. This could mean co-operation around interviews, evidence gathering or searches and seizures.

The two agreements come after significant work between the UAE and Ireland in the past few years. A liaison officer from the Garda has been based in the UAE since 2022 and Dubai Police also travelled to Dublin recently to assist with the investigation arising from the seizure of 2.2 tonnes of cocaine on the MV Matthew, off the southern Irish coast.

Ms McEntee said the co-operation showed both countries were committed to building strong relationships. “Crime crosses borders and we need to be able to deal with it in the exact same way,” said Ms McEntee. “Relationships are really important in that regard and this has been a really positive experience … between our two countries."

The treaty applies to anyone who has committed a crime where the sentence is over a year, so this could be serious assault, murder or aggravated burglary. It now needs to be ratified by the Dail, the Irish parliament, but it is hoped this will be a short process.

Ms McEntee said international crime gangs were a “serious threat”. “I think we have, for a small country, proven that we can still play our part,” she said of Ireland's efforts. “We're doing this to make sure that anybody who is trying to avoid any charges at home that they can be brought home to be charged and to face the Irish courts and to face the Irish people."

Ms McEntee said the Irish Garda commissioner was “active and engaged on the international scene” to ensure that Ireland plays its role.

'Election mode'

It is the hope of Ms McEntee that the agreements will pass through the Dail before the imminent general election in Ireland. A poll is expected within weeks and it has been a busy few weeks for the minister.

She arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, hours after she was appointed deputy leader of the Fine Gael party, which is part of Ireland’s governing coalition government. She returns to a country in election mode.

“The Taoiseach [Irish Prime Minister] has confirmed it might be this side of Christmas,” she said, regarding the poll.

She added that there was a desire in Fine Gael to seek a new mandate from the people and show the work that has been done over the past four and a half years. “I'll be as a deputy leader doing everything I can with the Taoiseach to get that message across to being can," she said.

“My own view is there's no point in being in politics if you don't want to be there to make decisions, even if they are the difficult ones. We want to be leading the next government and I'll do what I can obviously to make that a reality."