A group of Arab countries demanded action from the British government to restrict an expansion of Qatar's intelligence activities in London, including surveillance operations as well as political and propaganda activity.
The delegation warned Alistair Burt, the Foreign Office minister for the Middle East, in a meeting this week that a failure to impose restraints on the activities of the Qatar - and a range of front organisations - would have an impact on ties with the region.
Mr Burt was reported to have given warnings last year that the dispute between the Arab quartet — Saudi Arabia, the UAE Bahrain and Egypt — and Qatar should not be "played out" in London. Echoing his calls at that time, the envoys told Mr Burt that the British government had stood by while Doha had massively expanded the resources devoted to front organisations in London, a source on the Arab side told The National.
A handful of locations that serve as bases for Qatari intelligence operatives in Mayfair, central London, have been used in recent months to target officials and prominent figures from other Arab countries. Operations plotted from these sites have included attempts to create “defections” from other states.
There is puzzlement among Britain’s allies over why this covert activity has not been checked by British counter-intelligence organisations. A source from one of the countries that took part in the meeting called into question the official assurances that Britain would not choose sides in the boycott of Qatar over its support for extremism and sheltering of terror suspects.
“If the UK wants to be neutral in this situation, the UK should be seen to look neutral because the government doesn’t seem to be acting neutral to us,” the source said.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office did not address the direct concerns raised in the meeting but stressed that the UK was eager for the divisions in the region to reach a point of resolution.
“The UK remains very concerned by the ongoing tensions in the Gulf. We call on our Gulf friends to get firmly behind Kuwait’s mediation efforts to resolve the dispute,” she said.
Fears have also been expressed about loans granted by Qatari banks, also operating from Mayfair addresses, to a range of front organisations operating in Britain. The funds are used to organise and promote “agitprop”. The term from the Soviet Union describes a mix of front organisations engaged in political activity and propaganda outlets that disguise their true purpose.
Posing as non-government organisations and campaign groups, these organisations use the financing to secure high-profile speakers from the worlds of politics and law for events held in parliament and other prominent venues.
“The loans are stretched or never repaid or the organisations closed down and the loan is cancelled,” the source said. “There is a pattern where they then start up with a similar name having washed the money away.”
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Another tactic has seen charities set up to provide platforms for social media training to bolster propaganda outlets and community messaging, according to the source.
Several Qatar-backed events are planned in the British capital next week alone. One involves a newly formed “research centre” that has contributed to conferences in Geneva and London since its formation.
A hallmark of these events is live broadcasts on pro-Qatari television channels or slick videos that are uploaded to the internet. Another source said emails hacked by Qatar had been published by Doha-funded news outlets, which presented the material as independently reported information.
The delegation also raised with Mr Burt information on a number of Iran-backed activities that similarly targeted their embassies and officials. While the British government has been under growing pressure to adopt a complete ban on the Lebanese group Hezbollah, the group has grown its presence in the UK. Photographic evidence showed more than 50 Hezbollah flags, which has a Kalashnikov rifle as its centrepiece, were flown at one recent rally outside the Saudi Arabian embassy.
Meanwhile a separate Iranian-backed group has begun a campaign of hijacking the exterior of public buildings, including the Houses of Parliament, to project messages of hate and political slogans targeting the Arab countries. Despite the regularity of the ambush marketing campaigns, the authorities have not intervened against the activity, said the source.
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Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
Sunday: Final
The biog
Age: 46
Number of Children: Four
Hobby: Reading history books
Loves: Sports
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.”
The biog
Name: Mariam Ketait
Emirate: Dubai
Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language
Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown
Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
