UAE: A Prime Destination for Millionaires and Money Laundering Activities
The UAE has become a global magnet for millionaires due to its lax approach to combating illicit financial flows and permitting widespread money laundering.
As reported by the American website Al-Monitor, lenient regulatory policies and simplified visa procedures have drawn numerous high-net-worth individuals to the UAE.
The website emphasized that the UAE has been named the world’s top wealth-attracting country for the third consecutive year, according to a recent report by Henley & Partners, a British investment immigration consultancy.
According to the report, Abu Dhabi is projected to draw a net inflow of 6,700 individuals possessing liquid assets of $1 million or more in 2024. This influx will include many from the UK and EU, supplementing the already substantial numbers arriving from India, the Middle East, Russia, and Africa.
Due to its lax enforcement against money laundering and illicit financial flows, Dubai experienced the world’s tenth-fastest growth in the number of millionaires between 2013 and 2023.
Money laundering crimes are active in the UAE in many major economic sectors, most notably real estate, wealth advisory, luxury retail, restaurants, hotels, cars, and fashion.
The UAE attracted a net influx of 5,200 millionaires in 2022 and 4,700 in 2023, bringing the total number of millionaires to 116,500.
According to the company, Abu Dhabi is set to attract approximately 5% of the 128,000 millionaires expected to relocate globally in 2024, a figure that significantly exceeds its 0.12% share of the world’s population.
The UAE has become a hub for global wealth, drawing affluent individuals from Western nations, established emerging powers like India, and smaller frontier economies in Asia and Africa, particularly those involved in corruption and tax evasion.
The absence of personal income, capital gains, and inheritance taxes, combined with the ease of obtaining long-term residency visas known as golden visas and the widespread availability of alcohol, has significantly enhanced the UAE’s appeal to high-net-worth individuals since 2020.
International organizations specialized in combating money laundering crimes confirm that the UAE authorities have not done much to combat illicit financial flows.
The flow of Russian wealth to the UAE since 2022 has raised concerns that it is acting as a haven for those facing punitive Western measures.
Critics argue that sanctioned individuals have managed to retain their assets in the UAE, often through the use of shadow companies.
The international financial regulator placed the UAE on its gray list, citing strategic deficiencies in combating money laundering and terrorist financing that were identified during previous mutual assessments.
