The UAE and the US have signed a judicial cooperation agreement on 24 February 2022, encompassing mutual legal assistance in criminal affairs. It is the first agreement of its kind in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
The agreement was signed by Abdullah bin Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi, Minister of Justice, and Sean Murphy, Foreign Affairs Attaché at the US Embassy in the UAE.
The bilateral US-UAE instrument was negotiated over the past several years by the Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
During the signing, Al Nuaimi stated that the bilateral cooperation between the US and the UAE expressed the will to enhance their legal and judicial relations.
He said that the UAE’s Ministry of Justice is keen to reinforce its cooperation in legal and judicial areas with the US. He also stressed the ministry’s willingness to implement the agreement and continue cooperating.
The signing of the agreement will support the achievement of justice in the areas of combating money laundering, terror financing, human trafficking, drug smuggling and organized crime.
It will improve and streamline US law enforcement’s ability to obtain and exchange evidence, needed for investigations and prosecutions and deepen the cooperation against terrorism and transnational organized crime, including cybercrime.
He also highlighted the importance of exchanging knowledge and monitoring the implementation of the agreement. The agreement covers several areas, such as mutual legal assistance on criminal matters, cases of refusal of assistance, the form and content of requests and their implementation, restrictions on the use and confidentiality of information, evidence and testimony, the transfer of arrested persons, document services, searches and seizures, assistance during confiscations and compliance with other agreements.
Al Nuaimi thanked everyone who contributed to the agreement’s drafting and signing and called for ongoing cooperation in the near future to exchange and benefit from mutual experiences in various judicial fields, as well as reinforce the constructive cooperation between the two friendly countries.
Murphy expressed his happiness at the signing of the agreement, which will reinforce the cooperation between the two countries.
The United States has entered into such agreements with more than 60 foreign nations.
According to the task force established to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, prosecutors in the UAE are actively investigating hundreds of cases.
According to a statement from the office last year, the authorities confiscated more than Dh2 billion ($544.5m), including Dh1.1bn in money laundering offences.
The Executive Office for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Finance released details of recent prosecutions and deportations of suspects.
