One is a sanctioned businessman. Another is a convict. Two more are celebrities with ties to political power.

What unites these disparate individuals? They are all Belarusian politically exposed persons listed as owning real estate in Dubai, a kingdom in the United Arab Emirates that has become a playground for the global rich.

In May, OCCRP and over 20 partners published Dubai Uncovered, an investigation that revealed how  sanctioned individuals, convicted or accused criminals, and public officials in Russia and Europe invest their money in Dubai real estate.

The project used leaked Dubai property data from 2020 that the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), a non-profit research organization based in Washington, D.C., obtained and shared with a large network of news outlets.

Now, the Belarusian Investigative Center, a member of the OCCRP network, has identified a similar group of politically exposed citizens of Belarus among the listed property owners. They include Aliaksei Aleksin, a businessman sanctioned by the United States and reputed to be Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s “wallet,” and others with ties to the regime in Minsk.

The investigation reveals that, even in a country whose government places a high priority on Soviet-style equality, people connected to the authorities can earn big money and offshore it to the UAE.

Read more at occrp.org
Photo:occrp.org,  Jason Mrachina, Flickr, License