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Ex-Pak ISI chief named in ‘Suisse secrets’ list of global money laundering

Akhtar Abdur Rahman Khan, one of former Pakistan President Gen Ziaul Haqs closest aides and the man largely credited with establishing the mujahideen network to counter Russias invasion of Afghanistan, is one of thousands of figures from around the world who have been exposed in a massive leak of secret banking data from a leading Swiss bank, Dawn reported…writes Sanjeev Sharma

Dubbed the ‘Suisse secrets’, this massive trove was provided to Suddeutsche Zeitung, a German newspaper, by a whistleblower and claims to have exposed the secret wealth of clients notorious for drug trafficking, money laundering and corruption.

According to the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a network of journalists from around the world that sifted through the data, accounts identified as potentially problematic held over $8 billion in assets.

The revelations indicate failures of due diligence by the bank in violation of commitments made to authorities to disown shady clients.

The data covers accounts that were open from the 1940s until well into the 2010s but not the bank’s current operations, the report said.

According to The New York Times, senior intelligence officials and their offspring from several countries that cooperated with the US also had money stashed at Credit Suisse.

“As the head of the Pakistani intelligence agency, General Akhtar Abdur Rahman Khan helped funnel billions of dollars in cash and other aid from the US and other countries to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan to support their fight against the Soviet Union,” the newspaper said in a report.

According to the newspaper, an account was opened in the name of three of General Akhtar’s sons in 1985, even though he never faced charges of stealing aid money.

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Years later, the paper said, “the account would grow to hold $3.7 million, the leaked records show”.

An OCCRP report was more specific: it claimed that the Saudi Arabian and US funding for mujahideen fighters battling Russia’s presence in Afghanistan would go to the CIA’s Swiss bank account.

“The end recipient in the process was Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence group (ISI), (at the time) led by Akhtar,” the report said.

The list of those named in the leaks includes King Abdullah II of Jordan and the two sons of the former Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak and Venezuelan officials ensnared in a long-running corruption scandal.

The data also features a Hong Kong stock trader once sent to jail on bribery charges, a tycoon who ordered the murder of his Lebanese lover, a Filipino human trafficker and dishonest politicians from Egypt to Ukraine.

One Vatican-owned account was used to spend 350 million dollars in an allegedly fraudulent scheme in London which is the focus of a criminal trial of several defendants, including a cardinal.

According to the OCCRP, the data also reveals that 15 intelligence figures from around the world, or their close family members, have held accounts at Credit Suisse.

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UAE, UK host anti-money laundering training sessions

Key institutions from across the UAE benefitted from the skills and knowledge exchange, including the Ministry of Economy, Federal Customs Authority, and the Central Bank…reports Asian Lite News

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) welcomed Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for a series of joint technical training workshops on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), held in March and April 2021.

The workshops, hosted by the HRMC’s team of experts, provided an opportunity to share the latest advances in AML/CFT thinking as part of the UAE’s ongoing efforts to raise awareness, build technical expertise, and further strengthen its supervisory system.

Key institutions from across the UAE benefitted from the skills and knowledge exchange, including the Ministry of Economy, Federal Customs Authority, and the Central Bank. The workshops were designed to share the UK Government’s leading approach, experience and latest AML/CFT methods, with a focus on several specific target areas of risk, including: Trade-based money laundering, including the misrepresentation of price, quantity or quality of goods moved through international trade such as in the precious metals sector.

Money Service Businesses (MSBs), including understanding AML/CFT risks in the remittance, currency exchange, and cheque cashing markets.

Money laundering in high-risk sectors such as Trust and Corporate Service Providers (TCSPs), real estate, and high-value dealers.

Information sharing, including the planning and preparation for open-source and other detailed cross-government investigations.

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Amna Fikri, Director of the Economic and Trade Affairs Department, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said, “We are pleased to partner with HMRC to lead these technical workshops covering a number of important AML/CFT subject areas. This robust knowledge exchange will support and better bolster the UAE’s capabilities in effectively addressing financial crime issues and to assist in building a stronger and more sustainable financial ecosystem.”

Simon York, Director and Chief Investigation Officer of Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC said, “Money laundering and criminal financing are an international problem that requires international cooperation. The United Kingdom is not the only country facing these threats and that is why we work closely with international partners like the UAE to share our skills, experience, and understanding to address these important issues.”

The joint training sessions hosted with the United Kingdom form a key part of the UAE’s wide range of activities to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, including initiatives to facilitate international and domestic cooperation.

In February 2021, the UAE launched the Executive Office on AML/CFT, which serves as the primary national coordinating body on AML/CFT efforts within the UAE and holds a wide-ranging mandate to assist the relevant authorities in addressing the country’s National Action Plan. The Executive Office’s overarching objective is to enable and equip both the public and private sectors in the UAE in building a strong and sustainable AML/CFT structure in the country, including working with MoFAIC to facilitate cooperation and coordination with the international community.

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