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By AGGREY MUTAMBO
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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has distanced itself from the scandal that a family member of the country's leader has lost up to 400 million shillings to a union in Kenya.
The United Arab Emirates Ambbadador to Kenya, Khalid Al Mualla, told the Nation there is no connection between his government and the gold traders currently involved in a conflict in Kenya, adding that his country is disappointed to see a series of memes describing royalty as giving orders to Kenya.
The ambbadador's statement was made while Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, was pressuring the Kenyan government to release gold that was allegedly held by the government. airport.
Asked about a letter allegedly written by the Dubai leader to the Kenyan authorities, he replied: "There is no such letter. Everything is made, and even if there were any, who would believe it? He is the vice-president of the country. There has been no official communication on this issue between Kenya and the United Arab Emirates. "
"I think it's important to let things borrow legal channels because Kenya and the United Arab Emirates have competent authorities that can investigate this issue," said the envoy.
It was the first time that the ambbadador publicly commented on the gold scam that appeared at the end of last month.
The diplomat suggested that it was more a private transaction between private companies than an international relations case.
Al Mualla said that the documents posted online were fake, despite allegations of leaked letters stating that the United Arab Emirates has written to the President of Kenya, as he would normally send them.
One of the people involved and identified as Ali Zandi and who claims to have paid money for gold that was not delivered would be Sheikh al-Maktoum's nephew, the ruler of Dubai, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates.
The ambbadador could not say whether the ruler had participated in any of Kenya's gold imports, but claimed that the man named Zandi was actually not a native from the United Arab Emirates and therefore could not be a nephew of the leader.
"I can not tell you if he (Zandi) exists or not, but who is he? Anybody can show me proof that gold was going to the ruler of Dubai? I have not seen such a thing and I think that someone was working hard to harm relations, which are cordial.Kenya and the UAE are smarter than that, "he said.
The diplomat said several companies in the UAE were importing gold from Africa for refining purposes and it was not unusual for contracts to fail sometimes.
"If there is a conflict between two companies, it is not we who will determine who is right or wrong. There is the law and if people have facts, they can go to court, "he said.
The scam would have surrounded senior Kenyan government officials after brokers had filed their names, defending themselves for the reason why gold had not been released from the government. airport.
The ambbadador said that although President Kenyatta and the Dubai leader have close ties, the two did not meet to discuss the scam at the gold.
Until now, the scam has not been requested by the Kenyan side, but the UAE will be "ready to provide any useful information if it involves the UAE government".
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