Investigations business flourishes in Dubai’s safe haven

At lunch at a classy beachside restaurant in Madinat Jumeirah last week, I met a senior representative of a Russian mining company visiting the Dubai office on a brief stopover during an “international networking” tour.

Some aspects of the miner’s business are under EU and US sanctions, she explained, but there is still a global appetite for the strategic metals the business produces, and sales to the West are ongoing.

“But how about payment? Doesn’t that raise issues if you’re paid in dollars or euros?” I asked.

“Well, we have Dubai,” she responded.

I did not press her for details of how Dubai can help in those circumstances, and I am not suggesting her company, nor Dubai, has broken any laws or is circumventing Western sanctions, of course.

But her response illustrates the extent to which the emirate has become the go-to solution for traders who find their business impeded by the punitive Western measures imposed after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and indeed for all types of work at the sharp end of the law – disputes, litigation and arbitration.

Oil and commodities traders have mushroomed in Dubai since then, as has an army of professionals – bankers, lawyers, accounting firms and others – to service them.

The traders tend to gravitate towards the Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre and the professionals to the Dubai International Financial Centre, and business at both has surged.

The DIFC, for example, recently celebrated two decades of business with the announcement of its best-ever performance, including a 26 per cent increase in new companies basing themselves there.

Source: Trade Finance