Dubai: The Hidden Haven for the World’s Most Notorious Figures
Dubai is famous for its architecture and luxury lifestyle and is considered as a playground for the elites and the powerful. But recent research has unveiled another side of this shiny gem in the Middle East. The ‘Dubai Unlocked’ project which has involved more than 70 media partners has also discovered that Dubai is a safe house
The Increase of the Villains
Some of the world’s most notorious criminals have also been named in the Dubai Unlocked data. For instance, Asadullah Khalid, a former Afghan government official, who has been indicted for war crimes and drug trafficking lives in Dubai. His villa is situated in the plush Mohammed Bin Rashid City and is only one of the properties associated with persons of interest.
Similarly, Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of the Syrian president Bashar Al Assad and a key figure in corruption in the regime, Still, the US and EU, and recently the UK have blacklisted Makhlouf still, he can still amass his wealth through the Dubai CONNECTION.
The Allure of Dubai’s Real Estate Market
Due to the lax rules and laws in place and the ability to disguise the beneficial owner behind a number of trusts and holding According to John Christensen, from the Tax Justice Network, the United Arab,
It has therefore seen Dubai to be a suitable place to wash dirty money by individuals and companies. A recent expose by Swedish broadcaster SVT showed that some of the real estate agents in Dubai were open to receiving the payments in cash, in bags or cryptocurrencies, without asking too many questions about the source of the money.
The UAE has especially addressed these challenges after being integrated into the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in relation to failure to address illicit financial flows. The Emirati authorities have enhanced the rules and enhanced the reporting of any suspicious activity in the past years. But what critics say is that these measures have not shifted the core dynamics of the real estate market in Dubai.
Jodi Vittori of Georgetown University notes that the UAE has an untransparent legal system, and cooperation with the international police is unpredictable. The Gupta brothers, who are accused of grand corruption in South Africa and were not extradited by the UAE, are a case in point.
As the Dubai Unlocked project shows, the city that seduces legitimate investors and tourists with The UAE is currently in the process of improving the rules that govern its financial industry and the rest of the world will be eager to determine if improvements will occur.