Qatari businessman Abd al-Nuaymi - one of the world’s most prolific terrorist financiers - has finally been banned from doing business in the U.K. - a full 10 months after he was hit with similar sanctions by the United States.
The man has long been an adviser to the Qatari government, reportedly sending more than $2 million a month to jihadists in the Middle East. But questions are now being raised about why it took London so long to include him on its sanctions list, after he was designated by both Washington and the United Nations as a “global terrorist” last December.
Abd al-Rahman bin Umayr al-Nu’aymi is by no means an isolated case: five other Qataris have been blacklisted by the U.S., but they are still free to do business in the UK and use British banks.
The spotlight in the case has been on Secretary of the Treasury, Lord Deighton, who as well as overseeing the sanctions regime, also heads efforts to attract investment to the U.K. from Qatar, Kuwait and other wealthy Gulf nations.
Qatar has enjoyed close ties with Britain in recent years and invested – through its sovereign wealth fund – billions of dollars during the recession, buying up landmark businesses, as well as stakes in major companies.
Britain remains one of Qatar’s best customers - but the biggest is Japan, which became hugely dependent on the Gulf state after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
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