Dubai is becoming safe haven for Russian oligarchs

Dubai is becoming a hub for the Russian oligarchs forced out of the United States and Europe in the face of Western sanctions. They are still welcome in the UAE as it has yet to condemn the Ukraine invasion. So the sanctions have a little impact on these well-off Russians there.  

Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko’s superyacht was recently spotted in the port of Ras al-Khaimah. Madame Gu, a superyacht owned by another tycoon Andrey Scotch, was seen too. Moreover, this capital city is also home to the former Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich’s personal Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jet.

But none of those went unnoticed by the West as they raised concerns over the assimilation of these Russian oligarchs into Dubai. 

Western media outlets, including Bloomberg, Business Insider, BBC, and New York Times, are regularly spreading propaganda reports regarding these oligarchs’ ‘fleeing’ there. 

There are media reports on how the Russian oligarchs under sanction are transferring their wealth from the West to Dubai. It says the tough sanctions imposed on Russia by the West, including the US and UK, prompted the billionaires to flee to Dubai and buy properties in the UAE. 

The New York Times also reveals at least 38 businessmen or officials linked to Vladimir Putin have accumulated property in Dubai, estimated at more than $314 million.

So the politicians and activists from the Western world are calling for the United Arab Emirates to be blacklisted like Moscow. A group of members of the European Parliament has also appealed to the European Commission to blacklist Dubai. 

It is to be noted that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global financial crime watchdog, has taken action against Dubai by putting the UAE on a ‘grey’ list in March. The FBI is also investigating the activities and money laundering of the billionaires who attempt to escape Western sanctions. 

All those actions are enough to understand that the West is going to impose severe economic sanctions on Dubai soon. This issue exposes diplomatic tension between the UAE and the Western world. The New York Times reports that the failure to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has distanced its close Arab allies from the West.

In their defence, a political analyst close to the UAE’s ruler Abdulkhaleq Abdulla says, “If we are not violating any international laws, then nobody should blame Dubai, or the UAE……. for trying to accommodate whoever comes in a legitimate way. I don’t see why the West would complain.”

The UAE and other Arab states do not want to burn bridges with Moscow, says Al Jazeera in a report. Instead, they are trying to pursue a balancing act between the United States and its European partners on one side and Russia on the other. 

So, despite the increasing Western pressure to squeeze Russia financially, Dubai is getting crowded with Russian tourists and oligarchs. There are more than one lac Russian nationals living there. A survey by Beterhome found that property sales in Dubai have increased by 67 per cent since the outbreak of the War. Most of the consumers are Russian natives.

With the large number of Russian citizens coming to Dubai, the price of flats, houses, and villas has increased. Many Russians consider Dubai as their second home. Modern Living, a real estate agency in Dubai, informs that it is hiring more Russian workers as Russian consumers have increased drastically.

The writer is a freelance contributor.