Dutch and UAE police team up in fight against organized crime

The Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates have made agreements for their police forces to work more closely together in the fight against organized crime. The deals pay special attention to the disruptive effect of money laundering and underground banking on society, Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius of Justice and Security said after meeting with the UAE’s Minister of Interior, His Highness Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

A treaty on legal assistance and one on extradition between the Netherlands and the UAE took effect on August 1. This week, the Dutch Justice Minister and UAE Interior Minister discussed how to implement these treaties as effectively as possible so that the police forces of both countries can respond more quickly to each other’s requests.

“This is a fight against criminal forces that threaten our society with intimidation and violence. At the same time, they try to corrupt our good economy with their illegally obtained assets,” Yeşilgöz-Zegerius said. “Only by cooperating more with other countries can we further tackle internationally operating criminal networks.”

The agreements focus on further deepening the cooperation between the police services of the Netherlands and the UAE. In the coming period, the governments and police forces will figure out how the police can make more use of each other’s expertise. By working together and sharing knowledge, the police services of both countries can recognize and tackle illegal patterns more quickly, is the idea.

“With the agreements we have made, we can continue to take action to destroy the criminal power structures and their underground banking networks,” Yeşilgöz-Zegerius said.