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Dubai and money laundering are there any connections – example 4 - the Russian Laundromat

24/08/2020

In 2014, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) broke the story of the Russian Laundromat: a system to move over US$20 billion out of Russia, legitimising the funds by putting them in the hands of shell companies, then moving the money to 5,140 other companies in 96 countries.

https://www.occrp.org/en/laundromat/the-russian-laundromat-exposed/

At least 150 companies in the UAE received funds from the Laundromat.

Another investigation linked to the scandal shows that many of these companies seem to have been set up only to receive the funds and ceased to exist afterwards. While the names of these companies allegedly involved are known, the final beneficiaries remain a mystery.

https://www.rozana.fm/en/investigations/2019/02/04/uae-companies-involved-in-%E2%80%9Cmoney-laundering%E2%80%9D-13-companies-implicated-in-the-largest-file-of-russian-money-laundering

A wide variety of banks were used in the scheme - spanning the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Slovenia and Estonia - and the UAE proved to be another key jurisdiction through which to launder the proceeds.

One prominent example is Emirates NBD, responsible for suspicious bank transfers worth US$357 million.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) also allegedly made bank transfers connected to the Laundromat worth more than US$26 million.

Source - A recent report into attempts by the United Arab Emirates to combat money laundering and terrorist financing is damning, to say the least. - https://www.transparency.org/en/news/the-united-arab-emirates-a-key-piece-in-the-global-money-laundering-puzzle

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