BCCI’s drug money
laundering. The UAE and Hong Kong were major centres for heroin money. Banks in
the UAE catered for traffickers for the golden crescent countries of
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. Hong Kong banks received huge sums from
traffickers in the world’s leading opium producing regions, the golden triangle
of Burma, Thailand and Laos.
1966 – Sheikh Zayed bin
Sultan al-Nahyan became ruler of UAE, a British colony. Around this time Abedi
meets Zayed.
December 1971 - UAE gained
independence with Sheikh Zayed as President.
1972 – Abedi set up BCCI.
Its main backers were Sheikh Zayed and the Bank of America.
1973 – After the 1973 oil
shock, foreign and domestic banks opened hundreds of branches in UAE. Making it
one of the most overbanked countries in the world.
1973-75 – At the end of
1973, BCCI’s first full year of operation. It had 19 branches in five
countries, of these 8 were in the UAE and 4 in the UK. In 1975 BCCI had 64
branches in 13 countries, the UAE and UK had the lead with 19 branches each.
October 1973 – Egypt and
Syria attack Israel. The Yom Kippur war. UAE was the first of several Arab
countries to declare an embargo on oil exports to the US, as punishment for its
support of Israel. Over the next few months OPEC quadrupled oil prices.
25 November 1973 – KLM
airliner flying to New Delhi was hijacked to UAE, three hijackers surrendered,
their fate was unknown.
December 1976 – In Abu
Dhabi the UAE celebrated its 5th anniversary with a parade of mirage
fighters, missiles and armoured vehicles. While their ruler Sheikh Zayed
pledged support for the Palestinian cause and called for Arab solidarity
against Israel.
1978 – The UAE’s
ambassador to Washington Hamad al-Midfa tried to manage the press, with regards
to the takeover -- BCCI takeover of
Financial General. In 1978 Zafar Iqbal was head of BCCE the UAE affiliate of
BCCI in which Zayed held a controlling interest. Iqbal became BCCI chief
executive in 1990. BCCI takeover of Financial General was complete in 1982.
First American .
1979 – By 1979 the UAE had
430 bank branches or one for every 2,000 citizens. The highest ratio in the
world.
23 September 1983 – A Gulf
Air Boeing 737 from Karachi to Dubai crashed near Abu Dhabi airport killing all
passengers and crew. Was Abu Nidal behind the attack?
8 February 1984 – The
ambassador of UAE was shot dead in Paris France.
25 October 1984 – A
diplomat from the UAE was assassinated in Rome Italy.
20 September 1990 – BCCI
moved its HQ from London to UAE after refusing to release six month financial
statements.
9 September 1991 – Police
arrest Naqvi and several other BCCI officers at the banks main office in Abu
Dhabi UAE.
6 February 1995 – Gulf
economy BCCI deal buoys UAE stocks. Ahmad Mardini. Inter press service.
1998 – al-Qaeda accounts
in the Dubai Islamic bank in UAE were closed under pressure from the US.
8 December 2000 – The
pilot of flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagons southwest side is believed
to have been Hani Hanjour. Several hijackers including Hanjour and al Mihdhar
supplemented their finances with credit cards drawn on Saudi and UAE banks. The
FBI said that Hani Hanjour arrived in San Diego from Dubai on 8 December 2000
and left San Diego with al Hazmi for Arizona several days later. Hanjour was in
San Diego area with al Hazmi in December 2000. Hanjour was not identified by an
FBI informant who met with him. (the 9/11 investigations ©2004 S.Strasser
public affairs reports).
September 2001 – Pakistani
UAE based, Saudi born Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi (alias Mustafa Ahmed) coordinated finances for the 9/11
attacks.
22 September 2001 – UAE
severs diplomatic ties with the ruling Taliban movement in Afghanistan.
2004 – HBO documentary
about enslaved child camel jockeys in Dubai. They are malnourished boys, beaten and sodomized. (A crime so monstrous. E Benjamin Skinner
©2008 UK).
19 September 2006 –
Crackdown to stop illegal immigrants entering UAE from Oman. Al-Hilli
checkpoints security.
10 November 2006 –
According to Italian police the accused Pakistanis smuggled huge sums of money
to different countries. With the help of Indians based in UAE the accused
smuggled illegal drugs into Europe via Turkey. Their group comprised Albanians
who are also wanted. The Pakistani embassy in Italy asked Italian officials to provide
details of arrested Pakistanis.
2009 – UAE, soldiers and
laws for sex trafficking of women from Asia, into brothels in Dubai, and
Uzbekistan in 2009. Sex trafficking in UAE. (Slavery inc. Lydia Cacho ©2010
UK).
20 May 2009 – Ros Lehtinan
Iieana. Ros Lehtinen comments on the signing of UAE nuclear agreement. House
committee on foreign affairs.
30 Nov 2009 – Haseeb
Haider. UAE offers more funds to banks.
Khaleej times. (The shadow market. Eric J Weiner ©2010).
2011 – Gridlock, labour,
migration and human trafficking in Dubai. Pardis Mahdavi. ebook Sanford
California uni press Worldcat database.
23 October 2012 – Iran may
be using Dubai UAE to hide all the gold its trading with Turkey. Joshua
Berlinger Business insider.
22 May 2013 – Woman sentenced
to 15 years in Dubai jail for trying to smuggle drugs. Gulf news UAE.
28 June 2014 – Abu Dhabi
stops three attempts to smuggle cocaine heroin into UAE. 7 days.
