Leaked Dubai property files link luxury flats to OneCoin crypto scammers.

The Dubai Unlocked investigation shows how the Emirati city became a refuge for self-proclaimed “Cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova and nearly a dozen of her associates, even as the United Arab Emirates sought to clean up its image as a haven for criminals and fraudsters. The property records at the heart of Dubai Unlocked come from multiple leaks totaling more than 100 datasets, mostly from the Dubai Land Department, plus publicly owned utility companies. The new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 70 media partners, led by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, shows how one of the Middle East’s most exclusive real estate markets became a hot spot for ill-gotten wealth. The data was obtained by the U.S. nonprofit Center for Advanced Defense Studies and shared with Norwegian news outlet E24, then ICIJ and other partners. Taken together, the leaked property records, mostly from 2020 and 2022, provide a detailed overview of hundreds of thousands of properties in Dubai and information about their ownership or usage. Economists at the EU Tax Observatory and Norway’s Centre for Tax Research who analyzed the data estimated foreign-owned residential properties in Dubai were worth $160 billion in 2022. ICIJ and its partners used identifying information — such as names, nationalities, dates of birth and passport numbers — to confirm ownership. Reporters also obtained the deeds for some of the properties from the Dubai Land Department. A second tranche of property and transaction data from Dubai reveals additional information about the buying and selling of properties as well as rental incomes. Dubai Unlocked is part two of a cross-border investigation into Dubai real estate purchased with illicit funds. Part one of the project, Dubai Uncovered, was published in May 2022.

Links:
Dubai Unlocked