Dubai Unlocked

Published: May 14th, 2024

Banner: James O'Brien/OCCRP

From its humble days as desert tradepost to its current status as a global financial hub, Dubai has long served as a crossroads for commerce.

But it's not just financiers and footballers who are rubbing shoulders in the city’s glitzy skyscrapers and villa communities today.

Dubai has also become a meeting point for men and women from around the globe who have been accused of criminality and corruption.

With a reputation for financial secrecy, low taxes, and an ever-expanding spread of valuable real estate, the city is an appealing option for those looking to launder or hide cash.

Thanks to a new leak of property records, reporters have identified scores of individuals from around the world who own property in Dubai, and whose holdings we believe to be in the public interest to reveal.

They include alleged money launderers and drug lords, political figures accused of corruption and their associates, and businessmen sanctioned for financing terrorism, among others.

Dubai Unlocked, an investigative project involving more than 70 media outlets around the globe, is the most up-to-date look yet at who owns what in the Middle Eastern city.

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