Dubai, its futuristic skyscrapers and its artificial islands, its luxury shopping and its nightlife have long attracted the ultra-rich Russians who did not wait for the war in Ukraine. These Russians come there to set up their companies, to come and have fun on a private jet, to invest in cryptocurrency or real estate – buying a property of more than 250,000 dollars in the Emirates opens the possibility of a residence visa of three years.
But what is changing today is that these Russian billionaires are beginning to transfer their assets at the same time as their collaborators, their families and their servants. The gigantic apartments with sea views are for them. They come to stay. The manager of a real estate portfolio explains on a daily basis The world that the number of Russians approaching him is “up 30 to 35%”. And that for a week, the trend is accelerating. Even if the musicians who live from the private concerts given for these great fortunes follow the movement.
These representatives of Russian high society are businessmen, bankers, lawyers… Their approaches are discreet. But oligarchs targeted by international sanctions are certainly part of the lot. the New York Times assures that the plane of Roman Abramovich, owner of the London club Chelsea, was seen in early March at Dubai airport. Moreover, the day after Vladimir Putin’s very radical speech on Wednesday March 16, when the Russian president attacked the “traitors (…) having a villa in Miami or on the Côte d’Azur”, several private jets left Moscow for Dubai. Observers saw it as a sign that the exodus of billionaires was beginning.
Why precisely Dubai? Because London and Geneva, where they used to be, it’s over. The United Kingdom and Switzerland apply the same sanctions as the Europeans, the Nomenklatura no longer has any privileges there. Dubai therefore has free reign and the Emirates, which refused to adopt sanctions against Moscow, are taking advantage of their non-alignment. Local banks open their arms all the more easily to Russian money as they have the reputation of being relatively unconcerned about the origin of the funds.
The Emirates are also closely linked to Moscow by a strategic cooperation agreement signed in 2018, partnerships in new technologies. Their business relationships have jumped 38% in the past eleven months. Do not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
The other side of the coin: their reputation could take a hit. Earlier this month, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international anti-money laundering body, demanded major transparency efforts from the Emirates, which it placed on its gray list as well. as Syria, Yemen and South Sudan.