Police in Albania have raided a camp belonging to an exiled Iranian opposition group, reportedly leaving one man dead and dozens injured.
Authorities raided the Ashraf-3 camp in Manez, located about 20 kilometres from the country's capital Tirana, early on Tuesday morning.
The camp is home to hundreds of members of the People's Mujahedin, or MEK, a group that advocates the overthrow of the Iranian regime. It has its power base in Albania.
Officers had been authorised to carry out the operation by the Special Court Against Crime and Corruption due to concerns that the MEK had been involved in terror and cyber attacks.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran, a coalition that includes the MEK, said one man was killed and up to 36 others injured in the disturbances. Albania's interior ministry has so far refuted the claims.
“This morning, June 20, about 1,000 Albanian police attacked Ashraf-3 in a criminal and oppressive act. Many broke doors, cupboards, belongings and attacked residents with tear gas and spray. Many computers are broken”, the NCRI said.
“After this criminal attack, Ali Mousashari was martyred and more than 100 people were injured by burning gas, some of whom were sent to the Mother Teresa hospital in Tirana.”
The group demanded that the US and UN condemn the attack on the camp.
“The Albanian State Police have assured us that all actions were conducted in accordance with applicable laws,” a US State Department representative said of the raid.
“We support Albania’s right to investigate any potential illegal activities within its territory.
“The US doesn't see MEK as a viable democratic opposition movement that is representative of Iranian people.
“The US State Department continues to have serious concerns about MEK as an organisation, including allegations of abuse committed against its own members.”
The MEK was labelled a terror group by the US in 1997, a decision which was reversed after the group publicly renounced violence.
The far-left group was initially involved in attacks on US personnel during the 1979 Iranian revolution, but later turned against Ayatollah Khomeini.
The MEK later fled to Iraq and backed Saddam Hussein during his eight-year war against Iran in the 1980s, resulting in many citizens opposing the group.
Although largely based in Albania, the group claims to operate a network inside Iran.
Earlier this month, a group of hackers claimed responsibility for defacing websites associated with Iran's presidency.
Following the apparent hack on Monday, several websites displayed the portraits of two leaders of an exiled opposition group, while others showed pictures of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi with their faces crossed out.
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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.”
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