A German soldier went on trial on Thursday after being accused of plotting to attack high-ranking politicians while posing as a Syrian refugee.
Franco Albrecht, 32, allegedly planned to use the attack to stir up anti-migrant sentiment.
In a case that rattled Germany, he was arrested in 2017 while trying to retrieve a pistol he had hidden in a toilet at Vienna International Airport.
Prosecutors say the Bundeswehr lieutenant had taken weapons and explosives from the German army.
At his trial, he denied planning an attack.
"I can assure you I am not a far-right extremist," he said. "I have a clean conscience ... I have never planned any actions to the disadvantage of any person."
His lawyer told the court that Mr Albrecht was the victim of a "public witch hunt" and "character assassination".
He said his client was not a right-wing extremist and had posed as a refugee "in order to highlight security gaps in the system".
Despite speaking no Arabic, Mr Albrecht successfully posed as a Syrian refugee by using make-up to darken his face.
Pretending to be a Christian fruit seller from Damascus, he applied for asylum in his own country under the name David Benjamin.
He commuted from the Illkirch barracks in France, where he was serving in a prestigious Franco-German brigade, to attend asylum hearings, where he communicated through an interpreter.
His double identity was uncovered only upon his arrest in 2017, when police found his fingerprints produced two separate matches.
A serious act of violence that endangers the state
Prosecutors claim Mr Albrecht had planned to use both the pistol and other weapons and explosives to carry out an attack under his false refugee identity.
They believe the targets were Heiko Maas, who was serving as justice minister at the time, deputy speaker of Parliament Claudia Roth, or a human rights activist.
Mr Albrecht is charged with plotting "a serious act of violence that endangers the state" as well as with fraud and illegally possessing weapons and explosives.
We'd have put the prints in the system and have got the match of a Syrian refugee
If convicted in the trial set to last until August, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
The trial's opening has already been delayed several times by questions over which court would hear the case.
The hearing has laid bare the struggles of Germany's immigration system to cope with the entry of hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers during the refugee crisis of 2015 and 2016.
It strained the relationship between the armed forces and Germany's then-defence minister, Ursula Von Der Leyen, who is now president of the European Commission.
"There would have been a weapon at the site, with fingerprints on it," Ms von der Leyen said at the time.
"We’d have put the prints in the system and have got the match of a Syrian refugee."
Ms Von der Leyen's successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, ordered the partial dissolution of a commando force last year after revelations surfaced that some of its members harboured neo-Nazi sympathies.
Following a string of far-right terrorist attacks over the past two years, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer declared right-wing extremism the "biggest security threat facing Germany".
He promised tougher security measures, including a campaign against online hate speech.
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.”
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
THE%20SPECS
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Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
