Pirates keep on pirating (and laundering)
An Italian cruise ship with some 1,500 passengers got rid of a bunch of pirates today by shooting back at them while they approached in a rubber boat in waters around the Seychelles.. Pirates still keep pirating, even though the recent tough approach to pirating displayed by a US Navy SEAL team suggest that all understanding and that the patience from the international community has run out. The Royal Dutch Navy was blasted for releasing 9 pirates after freeing their hostages because of unclear NATO mandate and jurisdiction issues. Piracy is still a lucrative business although the risk/reward ratio seems to slide towards the risky side for the pirates at the moment.
In previous posts we described the desire to also fight pirates on the ground, not just on the wild seas (use tag: pirates). Get the money, disrupt their structures and make life unattractive for them. Where did it take us? Somalia ofcourse, and some fingers pointed towards Dubai. According the The Independent organized piracy syndicates operating in Dubai and other Gulf states are laundering vast sums of money taken in ransom from vessels hijacked off the Horn of Africa.
Investigators hired by the shipping industry mentioned that around $80m has been paid out in the past year alone – far more than has previously been admitted. But while some of this money has ended up in the pirate havens of Somalia, millions allegedly have been laundered through bank accounts in the United Arab Emirates and other parts of the Middle East.
The so-called “godfathers” of the illicit operations, according to investigators, include businessmen from Somalia and the Middle East, as well as other nationalities on the Indian sub-continent. There have also been reports that some of the money from piracy ransoms has gone to Islamist militants.
The Dubai police called the allegations baseless and referred to the strict anti money laundering legislation in Dubai. Even though the allegations were not supported by solid evidence, the suggestion that an anti money laundering law itself will ban money laundering is an argument not many police chiefs will dare to use.
The UN rightfully suggests to fight pirates on land; not just after the piracy act on sea. But even if you are determined to have that approach, you will encounter the same mandate/jurisdiction issues that you do in regular organized crime investigations. A strong deterrent as shown by the US Navy does not seems as a bad addition to the anti piracy toolbox.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/20/how-pirates-help-mideast-_n_189261.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/pirates-the-80m-gulf-connection-1671657.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jC_dDOXK55WuJyN8GtWtTpZf7H8AD97O64D01
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=248851
