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...
Opinion: How the UAE’s mafia-style tactics are hurting both Sudans. The UAE has signed agreements with Sudan and South Sudan, strangling the two countries economically and politically, while openly supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A report by the United Nations Panel of Experts on Darfur, under Security Council Resolution 1591, accused the UAE of supporting...
Russia sees the UAE market as a promising hub for conducting trade with Middle Eastern and African countries. Russian businesses view the UAE market as a prospective center for exporting to third countries, establishing local presence, driving collaboration, and engaging in trade with nations in the Middle East and Africa. During a sectoral business mission...
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...
MEPs in the European Parliament have drafted a motion for a resolution rejecting the European Commission’s proposal to remove the United Arab Emirates, Gibraltar and Panama from the list of high-risk third countries with strategic deficiencies in their Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes. As previously reported, the European Commission published a proposed...
The UAE is a hub for mercenaries in Africa and the Middle East. Now the Emirates want their own version of the French Foreign Legion. That may change how secret, private armies work in a legal grey zone. The job advertisement intrigued a lot more people than it was meant to, possibly because it sounded...
The latent crisis between Algiers and Abu Dhabi is now out in the open. This week, the X network (formerly Twitter) is flooded with hundreds of messages, oscillating between reproaches and hostilities, between Emirati internet users and, on the other side, Algerians or other nationalities defending Algiers’ position. The intensity of these less-than-cordial exchanges is...