A judge in a major criminal trial in the Netherlands stepped down over "unacceptable behaviour" by lawyers.
Ridouan Taghi, who was one of Europe's most wanted men when he was captured in Dubai, is accused of 11 murders and assassinations, international drug crimes and running a gang called the Angels of Death.
Sixteen alleged members of the gang are also due to stand trial.
One accusation that led the chief investigative judge to step down is against lawyer Nico Meijering, who is accused of identifying a family member of a prosecution witness in a letter to the judge.
(L/R): Lawyers Juriaan de Vries, Benedicte Ficq, Nico Meijering, Christian Flokstra, Laura ter Steeg (left to right) arrive at an 'extra secure' court at Schiphol, Badhoevedorp, The Netherlands on August 27, 2020, for a pre-trial hearing in the 'Marengo' case. - The case revolves around a series of murders allegedly carried out on behalf of Ridouan Taghi, who was arrested in Dubai in December 2019, and extradited to The Netherlands. (Photo by Sem VAN DER WAL / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT
Police tracked Mr Meijering to Dubai in a surveillance operation in a bid to apprehend Mr Taghi.
The case has been mired in controversy after the brother of a key prosecution witness known as Nabil B and his lawyer Derk Wiersum were assassinated.
The trial judge, who cannot be named, has been sitting on the case, known as the Marengo trial, hearing evidence in private since last July.
A passer-by looks at the flowers that have been deposited outside the office of the shot lawyer Derk Wiersum. - Derk Wiersum, defence lawyer in a major gangland drugs case was shot dead outside his Amsterdam home on September 18, 2019, raising fresh fears that the Netherlands is turning into a "narco-state". (Photo by Koen van Weel / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT
Her withdrawal means all the trial’s evidence hearings in October and November have been cancelled, causing lengthy delays while a new trial judge is appointed.
"Certain statements by some counsel go beyond all standards of decency, in my opinion," she wrote in her withdrawal letter, according to newspaper Het Parool.
"Where one might say it is just words, I find such treatment unacceptable in business dealings between judges, lawyers and prosecutors.
“In addition, I have been accused in various terms of systematically intimidating the defence, systematically favouring the prosecution and ignoring the rights of defence.
"It has also been said that with me staying there would be a constant fear of negative decisions for the defence and bias towards the defence."
Defence lawyers asked for her to step down earlier this year over claims of bias.
Mr Meijering and his colleague Christian Flokstra, said the judge’s withdrawal from the case was unjustified.
“We deeply regret that the examining magistrate has said goodbye to the Marengo trial with this letter full of personal and unfounded grievances towards lawyers,” they said.
“This is unnecessary and does not suit an examining magistrate.”
The trial faced continued delays owing to Wiersum's murder as Nabil B sought to find new legal representation.
Mr Taghi is in a high-security prison in Amsterdam following his deportation from Dubai last December.
An international arrest warrant was issued for him in 2018 and officials issued a €100,000 ($118,200) reward for his capture.
It led to a 10-day stake out at the luxury villa hideout of the Moroccan-Dutch suspected crime lord.
In a separate case in Morocco, Mr Taghi is also accused of the murder of a judge's son.
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
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.”
