The British Guardian newspaper has reported that a prominent Middle Eastern Ambassador to London is a cigarette smuggler.
Reportedly, Easa Saleh al-Gurg, who has represented the United Arab Emirates in Ireland and the U.K. for more than a decade, played a significant role in worldwide British American Tobacco (B.A.T.) smuggling.
Allegations against the wealthy businessman are corroborated by the internal files of the London-based tobacco corporation.
The Department of Trade and Industry is currently investigating several B.A.T. tobacco smuggling cases. B.A.T. recently issued a profit warning, saying that it faced increased pressure to crackdown on illegal trafficking.
Documents reveal that the al-Gurg Group arranged for millions of cigarettes to be channeled illegally down the Arabian Gulf into Somalia.
The director of Ash (an anti-tobacco group), Clive bates relayed, “If he [al-Gurg] can’t be taken to court [in the U.K.], he should at least be expelled from Britan and have his CBE taken away.”
There is, however, no indication that al-Gurg violated any laws of Dubai. Al-Gurg issues a statement through his lawyer that he was not a smuggler, but was “happy to sell cigarettes to any person or company that wish to purchase cigarettes for export.”
Mr. al-Gurg was awarded an honorary CBE in 1991. He spends half of the year in Britain and the other half in the United Arab Emirates, where he retains control of the trading group he established. He serves as the Deputy Chairman of the National Bank of Fujairah
B.A.T. is the world’s second largest tobacco firm. It operates in more countries than any other tobacco companies, and features brands such as Lucky Strike, Kent, Dunhill and Benson & Hedges. (Albawaba.com)
