Ukraine News: Dubai as a sanction-free luxury oasis for Russia's super-rich
Created: 03/05/2022 15:26
By: Patricia Huber
In recent years, Dubai has developed into a hotspot for the super-rich.
© Sasha Pritchard/Imago Images
Many Russian oligarchs have taken their assets to safety in Dubai.
The United Arab Emirates have not yet imposed any sanctions due to the Ukraine war.
Dubai/Moscow – Dubai: Sunny beaches and pure luxury – that's what most people think of when they talk about the Arabian desert state.
But there is much more behind it, as a data leak now proves.
Under the title "Dubai uncovered", an international research cooperation, including with the
Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ),
analyzed data from an image of the Dubai land register.
This shows that the area in the United Arab Emirates is not only a destination for sun-seeking tourists.
The emirate also attracts crime.
There is talk of tax evasion, money laundering, violent crime and drug trafficking.
Ukraine-News: Criminal elite exploits legal situation in Dubai
“Real estate has long been a vehicle for criminals to launder and use ill-gotten gains,” explains Isaac Zukin.
He works as an analyst at the Washington Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), which studies international crime and conflict.
The data was first fed to the C4ADS.
"Our database makes transparent how the criminal elite exploits and abuses lax regulations in Dubai," says Zukin.
Russian super-rich also appear in the documents.
A good 100 members of Russia's political elite own luxury apartments and villas in Dubai.
Many of them are close to the Kremlin.
According to SZ
information, these include
members of the National Assembly Duma, other politicians and also oligarchs and their family members.
Ukraine-News: Dubai has not imposed sanctions on Russia
According to research, the Duma deputy Alexander Borodaj owns an apartment on the artificial island "Palm Jumeirah".
He is a member of Putin's United Russia party and became known as the "Prime Minister" of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in 2014. He is on the US, EU and UK sanctions lists.
Roman Lyabichov, a member of the Communist Party, was also sanctioned by several Western countries as a result of the Ukraine war.
He is also said to own a house in Dubai.
There are a number of luxury properties on the artificial peninsula "The Palm Jumeirah".
© Sebastian Opitz/Imago Images
So the super-rich Russians like to flee to the luxury domicile of Dubai.
The reason is simple: the Emirates have not imposed any sanctions so far - and criticism of the Ukraine war has hardly been voiced at all.
(ph)