According to lawyers in Dubai, the authorities have warned that firm action will be taken against anyone who shows sympathy or any form of bias towards Qatar, or against anyone who objects to the position of the United Arab Emirates, which includes any type of social media commentary.
“The UAE Federal Public Prosecution has warned that… anyone who threatens the interests, national unity and stability of the UAE will face a jail term from 3 to 15 years, and a fine of not less than 500,000 dirhams ($136,000),” law firm James Berry & Associates said in a post on its website.
On 5 June, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain all cut ties with Qatar over its links to Islamist militants – allegations the peninsular state has denied. The four nations have since been joined by the Comoros, Djibouti, Libya, Jordan, Maldives, Mauritius, Mauritania, Senegal and Yemen.
Contract difficulty
Lawyers said as a result of the action anyone considering litigation, or attempting to enforce a judgement from the UAE in Qatar (and vice versa) may face difficulties in doing so.
“Parties to contracts governed by Qatari or UAE law may find that due to the severing of diplomatic ties between the two States, one or both parties may give/receive notification of a force majeure event, under the terms of the contract or under the prevailing law,” the James Berry post said.
The Central Bank of the UAE has asked its banks to report their exposure to Qatari banks, which includes any loans, equities, bonds, and interbank funds, and to enhance their due diligence on any client accounts they hold belonging to six Qatari banks; Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank, Barwa Bank, Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar National Bank and Doha Bank.
Qatar’s Central Bank has asked commercial banks to provide information on their foreign exchange trading on a daily basis. The banks in Qatar must also provide a daily statement of withdrawals and transfers from deposits worth in excess of 10 million Saudi Riyals (£2.0m, $2.6m). It also requires banks to provide information on cash withdrawals and deposits on a daily basis.
