US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI1123

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UAE POSTPONES HAWALA CONFERENCE

Identifier: 03ABUDHABI1123
Wikileaks: View 03ABUDHABI1123 at Wikileaks.org
Origin: Embassy Abu Dhabi
Created: 2003-03-09 13:08:00
Classification: CONFIDENTIAL
Tags: PTER EFIN ETTC PREL PGOV TC
Redacted: This cable was not redacted by Wikileaks.
null
Diana T Fritz  05/24/2007 04:55:04 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Search Results

Cable 
Text:                                                                      
                                                                           
      
CONFIDENTIAL

SIPDIS
TELEGRAM                                           March 09, 2003


To:       No Action Addressee                                    

Action:   Unknown                                                

From:     AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI (ABU DHABI 1123 - UNKNOWN)         

TAGS:     PTER, EFIN, ETTC, PREL, PGOV                           

Captions: None                                                   

Subject:  UAE POSTPONES HAWALA CONFERENCE                        

Ref:      None                                                   
_________________________________________________________________
C O N F I D E N T I A L        ABU DHABI 01123

SIPDIS
Laser1:
    INFO:   FCS 
CXABU:
    ACTION: ECON 
    INFO:   POL P/M AMB DCM 

DISSEMINATION: ECON
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: DCM:RAALBRIGHT
DRAFTED: ECON:TEWILLIAMS
CLEARED: NONE

VZCZCADI818
OO RUEHC RUEHZM RUCNFB RUEATRS RUEAWJA RUEHYN
RHEHNSC
DE RUEHAD #1123 0681308
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 091308Z MAR 03
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8744
INFO RUEHZM/GCC COLLECTIVE
RUCNFB/FBI WASHDC
RUEATRS/TREASURY DEPT WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA 1154
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 001123 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP - HEFFERNAN, NEA/RA - SUTPHIN, 
EB/ESC/ESP, INL/ENT - NOVIS, INL/C - CASSARA, AND 
S/CT - REALUYO 
TREASURY FOR OGC - AUFHAUSER, ENFORCEMENT DAS 
ZARATE, IEA DIRECTOR BOYLAN AND LONERGAN 
TREASURY PASS OFAC FOR NEWCOMB 
TREASURY PASS OTA FOR N. WORTHINGTON 
JUSTICE FOR OPDAT - JIM SILVERWOOD 
JUSTICE PASS TED GREENBERG 
JUSTICE FOR MONEY-LAUNDERING AND ASSET FORFEITURE 
SECTION -- DAVITT 
NSC FOR GARY PETERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/07 
TAGS: PTER, EFIN, ETTC, PREL, PGOV, TC 
SUBJECT: UAE POSTPONES HAWALA CONFERENCE 
 
REF:  ABU DHABI 619 
 
1.  CLASSIFIED BY DCM RICHARD A.ALBRIGHT FOR 
REASONS 1.5 (B,D). 
 
2. (C)  In a meeting with Econchief 3/8 (other 
topics septel, notal), UAE Central Bank Governor 
Sultan bin Nasser Al-Suweidi stated that the 
planned Second International Conference on Hawala, 
scheduled for April 2-3 in Abu Dhabi, has been 
postponed.  A formal notification would be issued 
shortly, but the decision had already been taken 
owing to poor response (only 20 participants had 
signed up on the Central Bank's website and not all 
these were firm acceptances).  Econchief noted that 
the USG strongly supported the conference and had 
planned to participate with a sizable delegation. 
Al-Suweidi acknowledged this, but said that 
concerns about a likely conflict with Iraq had 
probably contributed to the lack of broader 
international support.  The conference could be 
rescheduled, should there be sufficient interest, 
at a later date -- he would consult further with 
the FATF. 
 
3.  (C)  With regard to the UAE's own regulations 
governing hawala, the Governor noted that now that 
approximately 30 hawaladars had come forward to 
register voluntarily, the UAE authorities are 
reaching out to those believed to be active in the 
business -- but who had not registered -- and 
"inviting" them to register.  Al-Suweidi observed 
that this process of "invitation" had only been 
necessary in a small number of cases; he was 
pleased that the vast majority of registrations had 
been purely voluntary. 
 
Wahba 

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