DUBAI // The US Department of the Treasury has added three Dubai companies to its global blacklist, accusing them of laundering Afghan drug money.
The firms - Al Adal Exchange, Green Leaf General Trading and Connect Telecom General Trading - were added on February 18 to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list managed by the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Along with a dozen other firms, the three companies are accused of acting as affiliates or subsidiaries of a major drug money-laundering outfit in Afghanistan called New Ansari Money Exchange.
According to OFAC officials, New Ansari helped to launder money for two "significant" traffickers: a man called Haji Azizullah Alizai and the Haji Juma Khan Organisation.
Between December 2009 and January 2010 New Ansari Money Exchange sent $94 million (Dh345m)from Afghanistan to Dubai, OFAC officials said.
Abdulla al Bannai, a lawyer for Connect Telecom, said the company had heard nothing from US or UAE authorities but would respond to any queries it received.
"If something happens with the local authorities, some inquiry or investigation, then we will start," he said.
One transfer between two Connect Telecom accounts in the UAE after the firm was blacklisted was held up by the Central Bank but was released within 48 hours, said Mr Bannai. He declined to comment on any links with the other Dubai-based companies named on the OFAC list.
Green Leaf officials referred questions to Connect Telecom; the two have offices in the same building in Deira. Al Adal Exchange, which operates in a storefront around the corner from the Deira offices of Connect and Green Leaf, did not respond to requests for comment.
The SDN blacklist includes more than 4,000 firms and individuals, said Marti Adams, an OFAC spokesperson. She did not provide the exact number of UAE-based entities on the list. Determining the number is difficult because the same company can be listed under different names and related groups.
Sanctioned firms are banned from doing business with US companies and are often shunned by other organisations, which fear guilt by association.
Critics say OFAC sometimes adds firms to the banned list based on weak evidence, which in some cases imposes severe penalties on firms that have done nothing illegal. In addition, many companies spend years attempting to be removed from the list.
"It amounts to an economic death penalty," said Erich Ferrari, a US-based lawyer who specialises in OFAC issues. "Anyone who does business with the US will probably shut their doors to these designated parties."
"The tendency to some degree is to overlist . to shoot and ask questions later," said Hal Eren, a former sanctions adviser at OFAC. Investigators may rely on "very thin evidence", "inaccurate information" and "rebuttable presumptions".
Nor does inclusion on the list necessarily mean an end to suspicious activity. For small firms outside the US, "the impact is not great", he said.
Even firms who do find themselves locked out of the global financial system can wriggle back in.
"Some may metamorphose into other entities," Mr Eren said.
The SDN list is updated regularly; so far this year OFAC has added 16 sets of entries and removed three. It recently blacklisted Libya's leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, and several of his children.
As a global financial hub, the UAE faces unique challenges in halting money laundering. Since 9/11 the Government has boosted its efforts to help the US to cut off the financing of terrorist groups.
It passed a major money laundering law in 2002 and strong counterterrorism regulations in 2004, and has issued broader rules since the International Monetary Fund encouraged tougher enforcement in a 2008 report.
The Central Bank held a training session this month focusing on improving enforcement of the regulations.
The current laws are effective, but government personnel need better training in how to apply them, said Mohamed al Kamali, a member of the Central Bank's Anti-Money Laundering and Suspicious Cases Unit and director of the Abu Dhabi-based Institute of Training and Judicial Studies.
chuang@thenational.ae
* This article has been amended since original publication. We originally stated that OFAC spokesperson Marti Adams did not answer queries about the exact number of UAE entities blacklisted. In fact, she referred back to the UAE section of the blacklist with repeat entries.
Scorebox
Dubai Sports City Eagles 7 Bahrain 88
Eagles
Try: Penalty
Bahrain
Tries: Gibson 2, Morete 2, Bishop 2, Bell 2, Behan, Fameitau, Sanson, Roberts, Bennett, Radley
Cons: Radley 4, Whittingham 5
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The squad traveling to Brazil:
Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
Volvo ES90 Specs
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Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)
Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
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Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The biog
Job: Fitness entrepreneur, body-builder and trainer
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite quote: We must become the change we want to see, by Mahatma Gandhi.
Favourite car: Lamborghini
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now