A lone refugee child has been missing for more than a year after disappearing, aged 12, from a UK hotel, The National can reveal.
The youngster was one of hundreds of refugee children who vanished from hotels amid fears they had been lured away by criminal gangs.
The authorities in the UK are facing heavy criticism that they are failing to protect child asylum seekers.
Housing lone refugee children in hotels was ruled unlawful in July after charity Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT) took legal action against Kent County Council.
In his ruling, judge Martin Chamberlain revealed that according to data sent to the UK parliament in April 2023, 447 unaccompanied asylum seeker children had by that time gone missing from these hotels, mostly within 72 hours of arrival.
He said that they were “mostly 16 or 17-year-olds but they also include 11 children aged 15, a 14-year-old and a 12-year-old”.
Following a Freedom of Information request made by The National, the Home Office disclosed in November that 144 of the children were still missing but initially refused to reveal if the 12-year-old was among them.
Following an appeal and lengthy delay, the Home Office has now finally disclosed that the child has not been found.
The department has refused to provide an update and said “it’s government policy not to comment on individual cases”.
Patricia Durr, the chief executive of ECPAT, told The National: “The fact that children went missing and remain missing from hotels in which they were unlawfully accommodated by the Home Office is a national child protection scandal in need of independent inquiry and investigation.
“It is imperative that all efforts are made to find this child, if they remain missing and to address the risks and their need for protection and care.
“We remain very concerned about the welfare of every child who is missing and vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.”
She said that ECPAT, along “with many others, raised concerns about this potential outcome from the very start when Kent County Council derogated from its duty to look after all unaccompanied children in its area”.
While the Home Office says it no longer uses hotels to house children, fears have been raised that new asylum legislation could mean under-18s being removed.
Ms Durr warned that could mean more children disappearing as they go to ground in a bid to stay in the UK.
“We are very concerned that current government policy to detain and remove children once they reach the age of 18 is leaving children more at risk and we anticipate seeing more children going missing,” she said.
It comes as Home Office figures reveal more than 20,000 asylum seekers have gone missing in the UK in the past five years.
The figures, obtained by the Daily Mail, also through Freedom of Information, shows these cases were logged on a “service to file” database because officials did not know where they were and had no way of contacting them.
More than 8,000 people have arrived in Britain so far this year on small boats, with many fleeing war or famine and travelling through Europe to the UK.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made “stopping the boats” one of his main political pledges and has been attempting to get a controversial plan to send failed asylum seekers to Rwanda up and running.
A delayed report published into the use of hotels to house refugee children was finally published in March.
Traffickers reportedly targeted the hotels where children are placed and made false promises of lucrative employment or education.
There have been cases of gangs threatening family members back home or keeping children accountable for family debt.
People-trafficking gangs used mobile phone trackers to find refugee children staying in British hotels and lure them away, with some even abducted at knifepoint, The National has been told.
The accommodation of lone refugee children in hotels formed part of a Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry into human trafficking.
In its report, the cross-party committee of MPs says the government “needs to show greater urgency in securing more appropriate accommodation that is suitable for the needs of children, notwithstanding the need to keep families together”.
Every child who goes missing from home or care should be considered as a potential victim of trafficking, it said.
The committee has told the Home Office to update members “with its progress in finding these children by the end of this year, and we expect to receive regular updates thereafter until the problem is resolved”.
Its report details how it heard evidence that unaccompanied asylum seeker children as young as 10 had been “placed in these hotels with no access to legal or mental health support”.
The Home Office said in a statement that when unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) go missing “a multi-agency missing persons protocol is mobilised to establish their whereabouts and ensure they are safe”.
The department says it has worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and National Crime Agency to set out countrywide guidance and best practice on missing UASC investigations, which has been shared with police forces across the UK.
An Asylum Safeguarding Hub continues to monitor and review the cases where a child remains missing from a Home Office operated UASC Hotel, liaising with statutory partners to share new information as it comes to light.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
ETFs explained
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ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL
Al Nasr 2
(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)
Shabab Al Ahli 1
(Jaber 13)
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
Pathaan
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