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Issa, Majdadden Ahmad Talal Mohammad (2021) Combating financial crimes in the Middle East with special relevance to the Middle East region: UAE, Jordan, and the Republic of Iran. Doctoral thesis, London Metropolitan University.
This work joins a vibrant conversation about the topic of financial crimes and the international community's role. The growing concern among leaders, thinkers, ad policymakers regarding how to fight this phenomenon is gaining momentum; it is becoming a national security issue for the world's major economies. For example, the United Kingdom UK labeled financial crimes as "a significant threat to the security and the prosperity of the UK" (Gov.UK, 2021.), and the US also identified such crimes as "a national security priority" (Nanto, 2011). Such crimes can have a negative impact on society because financial crimes can cause nations to collapse; overall, the "magnitude of the economic power that accrues to criminals from money laundering has a corrupting effect on all elements of society. In extreme cases, it can lead to the virtual take-over of legitimate government" (McDowell, 2001). The Middle East is an excellent example because it lacks transparency, accountability, and democracy. Thus, it is more vulnerable to unstable conditions. The events of the Arab Spring are the products of years of corruption, inequality, and injustice in this part of the world, amongst other factors.
The work here explores in depth how corruption infiltrated the establishments and the societies in the region over the past decades. Most academic descriptions handling this issue fell short because they do not understand the region's culture, including the language barrier, or because addressing such an issue is forbidden. For example, Nicholas Ryder refers to the Middle East problem as terrorism financing. How the US and UK are fighting this battle, the patriot act in the US "turned the administration's policy 180 degrees, from money laundering to terrorist financing" he continued by saying, "this resulted in terrorist financing being propelled to the top of the government's financial crime agenda," (Ryder, 2011), Barry Ryder elaborated this point further, the terrorist attacks of September 11 forced most nations to sign and adhere to The International Convention for the Suppression of Financial Terrorism, however before the attacks, very few countries were interested in this convention "until Mr. Bush's 'crusade"' (Rider, 2017).
A lack of democracy and accountability is what describes this region. Notably, the Middle East is looked at as the primary source of terrorism; therefore, handling the issue of financial crimes is often dealt with from that perspective; the priority is to fight Terrorism Financing TF, not to address the broader problem, corruption, and other forms of financial crimes that have a profound effect on ordinary citizens in the Middle East. The consensus in this region is that the world community is more concerned with terrorism than fighting financial crimes. For example, Dubai in the UAE is often seen as a haven for ML activities and a "global node for illicit and dubious activities" (Page and Vittori, 2020). The US focus on the Middle East is not "to promote democratization and economic reform" (Bayman and Moller, 2016) but to counterterrorism.
The events of the Arab Spring highlighted the importance of the topic. Economic, social, and political anxieties about the unstable conditions in the region accelerated world intervention despite the issue's sensitivity. The author used data from world-renown organizations like FATF and Egmont Group; furthermore, the author employed well-known cases from the region to strengthen the point that financial crimes can lead to the collapse of the moral and societal system of states, subsequently, a complete meltdown and chaos. Contrary to what has been assumed, financial crimes, particularly corruption, are not a product of the moment but an accumulation over the years. Despite efforts and contributions from international bodies, the author's findings indicate that the current trend and the rise of financial crimes worldwide indicate the failure of international response.
This thesis seeks to fill the current gap in the academic literature concerning the topic of Financial Crimes in the Middle East with special reference to UAE, Jordan, and Iran. Despite the recent increase in attention to financial crimes in this part of the world, most academic descriptions of illicit financial crimes, particularly Money Laundering (ML) and corruption, were not linked to the region's current instability. In addition, much of the research did not address the complexities of financial crimes and their consequences on a national and international scale. Criminal elements exploited the desperate need of many Middle Eastern nations for investments, such criminals employed modern technology and their experience in complicated financial transactions to their benefit. The author has examined the topic and diagnosed the problem with some recommendations in this thesis.
The cultural and political fabric of the region, civil wars, and disputes are making cooperation in the fight against financial crimes obsolete; more importantly, in some instances, a solid political will to fight corruption does not exist. A lack of effective anti-corruption programs and lack of trust between people in the region and regimes in some countries, government transparency, and impunity from prosecution are some of the significant challenges in the region.
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