European Union Halts Development Funds to Sierra Leone Over Refusal to Extradite High-Profile Dutch Fugitive
The European Union has officially suspended critical financial aid to the government of Sierra Leone following intensive diplomatic pressure from the Netherlands regarding the refusal of the African nation to extradite a high-profile Dutch organized crime fugitive. The freezing of international development funds demonstrates the willingness of The Hague to aggressively leverage European Union financial instruments to pursue transnational drug cartels operating out of safe havens.