US Attorney General William Barr's letter to lawmakers stating that the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been concluded and that Mr Mueller has submitted his report to the Attorney General. Reuters 
US Attorney General William Barr's letter to lawmakers stating that the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been concluded and that Mr Mueller has submitted his report to the Attorney Show more

The Americas

Donald Trump investigations: Where they stand

Collusion, hush money and outrage

Associated Press

March 23, 2019

A look at where the investigations related to President Donald Trump stand and what may lie ahead for him:

WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT?

Special counsel Robert Mueller has submitted his report on whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia and whether the president obstructed the investigation.

Mr Trump also plays a central role in a separate case in New York, where prosecutors have implicated him in a crime. They say the president directed his personal lawyer Michael Cohen to make illegal hush-money payments to two women as a way to quash potential sex scandals during the campaign. New York prosecutors also are looking into Mr Trump's inaugural fund.

Congressional investigations also are swirling around the president. Democrats have launched a sweeping probe of Mr Trump, an aggressive investigation that threatens to shadow the president through the 2020 election season.

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WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW RIGHT NOW?

Mr Mueller turned over his long-awaited final report to Attorney General Wiliam Barr on Friday.

Mr Barr released a letter noting his plans to write his own account of Mr Mueller's findings and said he could send his account to Congress quickly.

The White House released a statement saying it had not seen or been briefed on the document.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer said it's "imperative" to make the full report public.

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SO ... DID THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN COLLUDE WITH RUSSIA?

There is no smoking gun when it comes to the question of Russia collusion. But the evidence so far shows that a broad range of Trump associates had Russia-related contacts during the 2016 presidential campaign and transition period, and several lied about the communications.

There is evidence that some people in President Trump's orbit were discussing a possible email dump from WikiLeaks before it occurred. American intelligence agencies and Mr Mueller have said Russia was the source of hacked material released by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks during the campaign that was damaging to Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential effort.

WHAT ABOUT OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE? That is another unresolved question that Mr Mueller was pursuing. Investigators have examined key episodes such as Mr Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey and his fury over Attorney General Jeff Sessions' recusal.

WHAT DOES TRUMP HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ALL THIS? The president has repeatedly slammed the Mueller investigation as a "witch hunt" and insisted there was "NO COLLUSION" with Russia. He also says Mr Cohen lied to get a lighter sentence in New York.

The biog

Occupation: Key marker and auto electrician

Hometown: Ghazala, Syria

Date of arrival in Abu Dhabi: May 15, 1978

Family: 11 siblings, a wife, three sons and one daughter

Favourite place in UAE: Abu Dhabi

Favourite hobby: I like to do a mix of things, like listening to poetry for example.

Favourite Syrian artist: Sabah Fakhri, a tenor from Aleppo

Favourite food: fresh fish

Europe’s rearming plan
  • Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
  • Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
  • Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
  • Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
  • Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital

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.”