The United Arab Emirates’ central bank on Thursday ordered commercial banks and financial institutions to stop dealing with 18 more individuals and entities with alleged links to Qatar.
The move makes it the first financial watchdog in the Gulf to act on the new blacklist, with regulators in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt likely to follow.
The four Arab countries announced on Monday that they were blacklisting nine groups based in Yemen and Libya and nine people from several Arab countries.
All 18 more individuals and entities were directly or indirectly linked to Qatar, which the Saudi-led bloc accuses of financing terrorism.
Doha denies the claims.
In a circular, the UAE watchdog asked banks and financial institutions to “start immediate search for and freezing of all bank accounts, investments, and deposits that may be held by any individual or entity” included on the Monday list.
The latest move suggests the two-month spat between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours is no closer to a resolution in spite mediation by the US and Kuwait.
UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said on his Twitter account: “We have to go on without Qatar.”
Qatar said on Wednesday that the new blacklist was “a disappointing surprise” and that it was doing all it could to fight extremism.
The four Arab states cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar, a major global gas supplier and host to the biggest US military base in the Middle East.
On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt accused Qatar of financing militant groups in Syria and allying with Iran, their regional foe.
The state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday that the move was part of the four countries efforts to fight terrorism by continually updating their lists of groups and individuals designated as terrorist.
In June, the UAE central bank ordered local banks to stop dealing with 59 individuals and 12 entities with alleged links to Qatar and to freeze their assets.
It also told them to apply enhanced due diligence for any accounts they hold with six Qatari banks.
Reuters/NAN.
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