Asia

Thousands arrested in World Cup gambling crackdown

Police in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand arrest more than 5,000 people in a coordinated Interpol swoop against illegal football betting.

Police in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have arrested more than 5,000 people in a coordinated swoop against illegal football betting during the World Cup, Interpol said today. The international police agency, which helped coordinate the month-long operation, said officers had raided more than 800 illegal gambling dens that had handled more than US$155 million (Dh569m) in bets. "The results we have seen are impressive," said Interpol executive director for police services Jean-Michel Louboutin, in a statement released by the agency's headquarters in Lyon, central France.

"As well as having clear connections to organised crime, illegal soccer gambling is also linked with corruption, money laundering and prostitution," he said, declaring a blow had been struck against underworld gangs. The operation ran between June 11 and July 11, during a time when hundreds of millions of fans around the globe were glued to their television screens, following the action from the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa.

Many supporters were also tempted to gamble on the results, sometimes legally and sometimes with unlicensed and often crooked bookmakers. In the operation, police seized $10m in cash along with other alleged criminal assets such as cars, bank cards, computers and mobile phones, Mr Louboutin said in his statement. "The information gathered will now be reviewed and analysed to determine the potential involvement of other individuals or gangs across the region and beyond," he warned.

The World Cup operation was dubbed SOGA III, following two previous but smaller series of raids. In all, these operations have led to nearly 7,000 arrests, the seizure of more than $26m in cash and the closure of illegal gambling dens which handled more than two billion dollars' worth of bets, Interpol said. * AFP

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”