In 2023, Caoimhe Robinson bought a 20,569-square-foot villa, still under construction, for about $2.1 million in an upscale section of Dubai, close to Zayed University. Even unfinished, the structure’s white walls, arched doorways and red roof call to mind an elegant Mediterranean retreat, one befitting an area that one real estate website describes as “a...
Abdelkader Bouguettaia, 36, was arrested in early November 2023 following a visit by the interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, to the United Arab Emirates to strengthen judicial cooperation. He was eventually released in mid-December by the UAE judiciary. The arrest of “Bibi” had taken on the airs of a trophy. A few days after a lightning...
As the U.S. opioid crisis spirals further out of control, and threatens to engulf Europe, the U.S. government has been scrambling in recent weeks for solutions. Some are sensible, if misguided, such as the Biden administration’s “fentanyl strike force” within the Treasury Department to aggressively scrutinize the finances of suspected narcotics dealers. Others, such as...
VIDEO INVESTIGATION For two years, Bertrand Monnet, a professor at Edhec and specialist in the economics of crime, filmed all the stages of the business model of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico for “Le Monde”. In this third episode, we go to Dubai with the “narco” and their financial advisors to learn how to launder...