Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center

The Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Centre (ROLACC) is an organisation founded in Doha in 2009 by Ali Bin Fetais al-Marri, Attorney General of Qatar, which officially aims to promote "good governance practices".[1][2] A subsidiary office of ROLACC was created in Geneva, Switzerland, on 28 March 2017.[3]

The organisation has been subject to multiple controversies, in particular for its close ties with the Attorney General of Qatar and his family, who own the ROLACC offices in Geneva, and who are accused in the press of ill-gotten property acquired in Europe.[4][5][6]

Description

ROLACC organises conferences and training programs and contributes to the financing of research.[7][8]

ROLACC is headed by Ali Bin Fetais al-Marri, Abdulmehsen Hamad Mr. A. Fetais, a member of his family, and Mohamad Khaled Al Koutob.[3]

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attended the inauguration of the centre.[9][10] In partnership with the University of Sussex, ROLACC also offers a master's degree in Corruption, Law and Governance.[11][12]

In May 2018, the centre signed a partnership with the Foundation for Strategic Research to develop joint programs and exchange knowledge.[13][14] This agreement between the foundation recognized for its public utility and the Qatari center have been subject to criticism in France, due to a possible conflict of interest.[15]

Controversies

Ill-gotten gains

Although the purpose of ROLACC is "to improve the rule of law", its founder and president has been accused by Le Point of secretly owning luxurious real estate in Paris and Geneva in inadequacy with his official income[4][6][16]

In addition, GSG Immobilier SA, a Swiss company owned by the Attorney General of Qatar with his daughter Maha Ali M. A. Fetais, owns the ROLACC offices in Geneva. This scheme surprised various media.[4][17]

The Attorney General of Qatar has also been criticized for having accounts at the National Bank of Kuwait and for having violated several human rights laws.

Reputation laundering

At an awards ceremony against corruption hosted in Geneva by the Attorney General of Qatar, the newspaper Le Temps reported "Qatar is awarding itself a prize against corruption," noting that shortly before, the country had funded renovations at the United Nations in Geneva.[5]

The newspaper questioned if this award was not "a way of countering suspicions" of corruption against Qatar.[5]

Corruption accusations

According to French journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot, authors of the book Our Dear Emirs, the Attorney General of Qatar and ROLACC Chairman tried to "offer" a luxurious watch to Bruno Dalles, the Director of TRACFIN, the French financial intelligence agency, who was scandalized.[18][19] Bruno Dalles told the reporters: "I was both vexed and stuck by the process, while I had just explained him the purpose of my job is to increase transparency in the movement of funds."[20]

Senegalese media have widely criticized the close ties between Ali Bin Fetais Al-Marri and Karim Wade, Senegalese politician, sentenced for corruption who is now living in exile in Qatar.[21][22]

Swiss officials boycott

According to the prestigious Swiss newspaper NZZ, Simonetta Sommaruga, the Swiss federal justice minister refused to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Ali Bin Fetais Al-Marri given his dubious reputation.[23] The Swiss Federal Attorney was passed the file and he initially also refused to sign the document. He eventually did so, discreetly, the newspaper reveals. Qatari officials, including Ali Bin Fetais Al-Marri, have been unhelpful in investigating corruption for the next FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the NZZ reported.[24]

References
  1. "Ouverture d'un centre de lutte contre la corruption". tdg.ch/. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  2. "Rule Of Law & Anti-Corruption Center Geneva - ROLACC Geneva | Genève Internationale". www.geneve-int.ch. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  3. "Registre du Commerce du Canton de Genève". ge.ch. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  4. Hamel, Ian (2018-02-26). "Le Monsieur Anticorruption du Qatar et son hôtel particulier". Le Point (in French). Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  5. "Le Qatar s'offre un prix contre la corruption". Le Temps (in French). Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  6. News, Gulf (2018-03-01). "The mysterious fortune of Qatar's anti-corruption chief". GulfNews. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  7. "ROLACC Journal". www.qscience.com. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  8. "2015-2016 Qatar University Fellow". Center for International and Regional Studies - Georgetown University in Qatar. 2016-08-07. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  9. Greaves, McGuireWoods LLP-Adam. "The Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Centre launched in Qatar | Lexology". Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  10. "Secretary-General Meets Chair of Qatar Rule of Law Anti- Corruption Centre". United Nations Photo. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  11. "University launches Masters course in Qatar in corruption, law and governance : 3 June 2016 : ... : Bulletin : University of Sussex". www.sussex.ac.uk. alisonf. Retrieved 2018-07-01.CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. "ROLACC opens online applications for LLM - The Peninsula Qatar". thepeninsulaqatar.com. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  13. MENAFN. "Qatar- ROLACC in deal with Foundation for Strategic Research". Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  14. "ROLACC, French body in pact to fight corruption, cybercrimes". Qatar-Tribune. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  15. Qatar, Observateur indépendant du. "Polémique : La FRS s'associe au Procureur Général du Qatar Ali Bin Fetais Al-Marri". Mediapart (in French). Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  16. "Le Point raises doubts over Qatari attorney-general's wealth". english.alarabiya.net. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  17. Qatar, Observateur indépendant du. "Corruption: les biens mal acquis du procureur général qatari Ali Bin Fetais Al-Marri". Mediapart (in French). Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  18. "Michel LAFON - Nos très chers émirs, Christian Chesnot, Georges Malbrunot". www.michel-lafon.fr. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  19. Qatar, Observateur indépendant du. "Le Monsieur Anti-Corruption du Qatar a-t-il cherché à corrompre le patron de TRACFIN?". Club de Mediapart (in French). Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  20. "Nos très chers émirs". webcache.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  21. Tine, Modou Mamoune. "Relation entre Karim Wade et le procureur du Qatar : Mediapart fait son enquête et révèle !". SeneNews.com (in French). Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  22. Baya, Daouda. "Retour de Karim Wade: Les révélations de Médiapart | Dakar7.com" (in French). Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  23. Gyr, Marcel (2019-04-12). "Schweiz-Katar: Zusammenarbeit bei Fifa-Affäre harzig" (in German). ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  24. Gyr, Marcel (2019-04-12). "Schweiz-Katar: Zusammenarbeit bei Fifa-Affäre harzig" (in German). ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
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