How Pirates Help Mideast Businessmen Launder Millions

How Pirates Help Mideast Businessmen Launder Millions

Organised 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 have told The Independent that around $80m (£56m) 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 have been laundered through bank accounts in the United Arab Emirates and other parts of the Middle East.

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