NEW: Amid its rise as a major global financial hub, the United Arab Emirates has also become a thriving offshore destination. The #PandoraPapers provide an unprecedented look at how the Emirates operate as a secrecy haven and conduit for dirty money. 🧵bit.ly/3CmTp98
ICIJ reporter @mokhbersahafi traveled to the UAE to investigate offshore companies created within Dubai’s corporate enclave and the role that the country’s six royal families play in its economy and its offshore financial industry. bit.ly/3CmTp98
In #PandoraPapers, @mokhbersahafi & @michaelwhudson show how the UAE has become a nexus for financial crime. Its offshore industry’s clients include internet moguls who moved hundreds of millions for child porn traffickers, heroin dealers & other lowlifes. bit.ly/3CmTp98
The UAE is also home to SFM Corporate Services, an offshore company formation provider. The #PandoraPapers shows how money launderers and other bad guys used SFM to set up hard-to-trace offshore firms. SFM denies wrongdoing. bit.ly/3CmTp98
The #PandoraPapers reveal the offshore holdings of heavyweight Emirati royals, including PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; National Security Advisor Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan; and the president's son, Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan. bit.ly/3osavgQ
#PandoraPapers exposes the secretive Emirati financial interests of politicians and corporate leaders from 17 African countries. @willfitzgibbon reports on how the UAE has become an offshore destination for elites from some of Africa's poorest nations. bit.ly/3kICQ1d
The UAE has also turned to the gold trade to make up for its dwindling oil reserves, and now ranks among the world’s top gold importers, including from conflict-ridden African nations — a major driver of money laundering in the country. #PandoraPapers bit.ly/3CmTp98
The U.S. sees the UAE as a key military ally and bulwark against terrorism in the Middle East. This may explain why it hasn’t applied the same kind of pressure to clean up its offshore industry as it has on Switzerland and other tax havens. #PandoraPapers bit.ly/3CmTp98
While the UAE is now facing more anti-money laundering scrutiny, recent transparency reforms have been criticized as weak and its patchwork ‘free zone’ system, generally controlled by royals, is seen as particularly complicated to monitor. #PandoraPapers bit.ly/3CmTp98
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