Dubai extraditing more suspects to the Netherlands; 11 handed over in 18 months
Over the past 18 months, the United Arab Emirates has extradited 11 suspects to the Netherlands, a practice rarely seen before. Dubai is no longer a refuge for Dutch criminals, and they are becoming increasingly nervous, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) told NOS.
For years, Dutch criminals were able to live a life of luxury in the UAE undisturbed. According to the OM, dozens of Dutch suspects lived and hid in Dubai, continuing their criminal activities out of reach of Dutch law enforcement.
But since the Netherlands signed an extradition treaty with the UAE in 2023, that has begun to change. Last year, the UAE extradited the first three suspects. In the first half of this year, eight suspects have been handed over. “This isn’t a peak, but the new trend,” prosecutor Ferry van Veghel of the OM told NOS. The UAE now seems eager to get rid of criminals and is extraditing them one after the other.
Among the 11 extradited people are suspects of serious organized crime, including drug trafficking and money laundering. “But also suspects in cases that may seem less serious, such as cybercrime or cryptocurrency fraud,” Van Veghel told the broadcaster. “Because it must be very clear that whatever you committed, going to Dubai no longer means that you’ll remain unscathed.”
The extradited suspects include one of criminal kingpin Ridouan Taghi’s sons, footballer Quincy Promes, and an underground banker who allegedly moved millions of euros for other criminals. Suspects still on the OM’s extradition list include a Breda drug trafficker, a violent Eritrean human trafficker, and a man who caused a fatal accident in Lelystad.
According to Van Veghel, cooperation with the UAE is going smoother and smoother as the two countries get used to each other’s procedures. And the OM has noticed that Dutch suspects in Dubai are starting to get nervous.
The OM is receiving increasing calls from lawyers representing suspects in Dubai who want to make arrangements with the authorities ot serve their sentences here. “The fact that suspects are now contacting us to return to the Netherlands proves to us that they no longer feel safe.”
