Forthe past year reporters from The Times, The Sunday Times and News Corp Australia have been unlocking the secrets of the global cocaine industry for a new podcast, Cocaine Inc. This is the inside story of the British beauticians recruited as cash mules by a criminal mastermind. In Dubai’s gold souk two British drug dealers...
The Bulgarian businesswoman and other founders of the cryptocurrency that turned out to be yet another pyramid scheme were even able to complete luxury real estate transactions after the scandal had already broken. The reign of the “cryptoqueen” was short-lived, but it was, however, very lucrative. In 2014, Bulgarian businesswoman Ruja Ignatova launched OneCoin, a...
European parliamentarians are questioning whether the United Arab Emirates should have been taken off the “gray list” of countries at risk of money laundering and terrorist financing, following revelations that Dubai property owners include a host of dubious characters like drug lords and sanctioned businessmen. In mid-May, OCCRP and more than 70 international media outlets...
The UAE has been accused of being a leading recipient of tens of billions of dollars worth of gold smuggled out of Africa every year, reflecting growing concern over the illicit trade in the region’s precious metals. In a comprehensive study, Swissaid estimated that about 435 tonnes of gold worth about $31bn were exported undeclared...
The Dubai Unlocked investigation reinforces the need for ongoing scrutiny of efforts by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to prevent and detect dirty money being invested in the country, Transparency International said today. Authorities in the UAE should now investigate the revealed cases and take action if there is suspicion that properties were purchased with...
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...
Gang used WhatApp group called ‘Sunshine and lollipops’ to co-ordinate money laundering between the UK and Dubai. Six members of a money laundering network which smuggled more than £100million from the UK to the UAE using suitcases have been jailed. The network transported the cash to Dubai during 83 separate trips between November 2019 and October 2020, overseen by ringleader...
Each year, money launders funnel $2 trillion in ill-gotten gains into the financial system. And a lot of that money travels by air, in cash, often in people’s suitcases, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Sunday (April 21). The report cited figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) showing that international...
Eswatini’s king professed to have a bold plan for a thriving economic zone. ICIJ uncovered two phantom gold refineries channeling millions of dollars to Dubai through it. Against a backdrop of rolling hills and sugar cane fields, a generous stretch of cleared land borders the small industrial town of Matsapha in central Eswatini, a tiny...
The ringleader of a money laundering group that smuggled tens of millions of pounds of criminal cash out of the UK has been hit with a confiscation order. Abdullah Alfalasi was given the order totalling £3,496,778.68 following a National Crime Agency investigation into his finances. The 48-year-old Emirati national was previously convicted of co-ordinating a...