Property leaks: UAE embassies reaffirm seriousness in protecting global financial system

After major revelations regarding thousands of elite property holders in Dubai, two embassies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reaffirmed their commitment and seriousness to safeguard the global financial system.

“The country takes its role in protecting the integrity of the global financial system extremely seriously,” statements issued by the UAE's embassies in the United Kingdom and Norway read.

The UAE officials — including at the ministries of interior, economy, and justice — and Dubai Police, however, did not respond to detailed questions.

The statement issued by the UAE embassies further said that the country continues to pursue global criminals while working closely with international partners to disrupt and deter all forms of illicit finance.

“The UAE is committed to continuing these efforts and actions more than ever today and over the longer term,” it added.

The response came after a global collaborative investigative journalism project revealed the ownership of properties of the global elite in Dubai. 

The project — ‘Dubai Unlocked’ — based on the data that provides a detailed overview of hundreds of thousands of properties in Dubai and information about their ownership or usage, largely from 2020 and 2022, surfaced on Tuesday.

Properties purchased in the name of companies and those that are in commercial areas are not part of this analysis.

The list includes political figures, globally sanctioned individuals, alleged money launderers and criminals. Pakistanis have also been identified on the list and their combined value has been estimated at around $11 billion.

More than a dozen retired military officials and their families, as well as bankers and bureaucrats, own properties in upscale Dubai areas, according to data revealed by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project’s (OCCRP) Dubai Unlocked project.