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The United States is intensifying its efforts to strangle Russia’s economy as the war in Ukraine near the one-year mark, and it has its sights set on the Middle East.
A senior US Treasury official travelled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday to convey a message to the hub of commerce in the region that assisting Moscow in dodging sanctions would not come without repercussions.
In a meeting with senior officials from several UAE ministries, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson spoke about the US’ “commitment to take additional actions against those evading or facilitating the evasion of sanctions,” as well as “rooting out evasion of US sanctions, particularly on Russia and Iran.”
The US Treasury previously issued a warning that “individuals and institutions operating in permissive jurisdictions,” such as the UAE and Turkey, ran the risk of losing access to G7 markets if they transacted business with sanctioned parties or failed to take the necessary precautions to prevent illicit finance.
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US are members of the G7.
Since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict in February of last year, the Gulf state has balanced between Washington and Moscow while choosing to remain neutral as it views the world order shifting toward multipolarity.
The US has urged its Middle Eastern friends on numerous occasions to help it slow down the Russian military machine, but it is unusual for the US to publicly threaten consequences against a close ally like the UAE.
“What we’re seeing now is a bit more about messaging to the region and indicating the seriousness of these sanctions,” said Justine Walker, global head of sanctions, compliance and risk at the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS). The US is trying to say, “If you are going to do business with Russia, then you do business with Russia but you don’t do business with us,” she told news.
Since the war, Russian investors have flocked to the UAE, making it the most popular Arab destination. As a result, Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s real estate markets are booming.
For evading sanctions, the US has already sanctioned organizations and people in the UAE. More recently, it imposed sanctions on two air transport companies with bases in the UAE for working with a sanctioned Iranian company to move Iranian UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), personnel, and associated equipment from Iran to Russia.
According to a statement posted by WAM, the state news outlet of the UAE, US and UAE officials discussed ways to improve their collaboration with regard to “ongoing sanctions program and associated designations of important networks around the world” during their visit.
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