Report links $1bn Dubai properties to Nigerian politicians, others

A total of 1,600 properties estimated to be worth $1 billion in the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai, have been traced to politically exposed personalities (PEPs) from Nigeria.

This is according to BusinessDay after obtaining exclusive files from Economy Post detailing all the properties owned by Nigerian PEPs, their family members, civil servants, and other individuals linked with properties in Dubai.

BD in the report also disclosed that PEPs from Nigeria have doubled their investment in the real estate sector of Dubai within four years.

It added that the investigation is part of ‘Dubai Unlocked,’ a six-month probe of UAE’s booming and secretive property market led by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) alongside more than 70 media partners.

“In terms of value, as of 2020, 800 properties valued at $400 million were traced to Nigerian PEPs in UAE’s commercial capital, but it has now increased to nearly $1 billion and 1,600 properties,” the report read.

Quoting Dubai Land Department, BusinessDay’s report also listed Nigerians as the second-highest foreign purchasers of properties in Dubai after India. It added that Nigerians own 1,824 real estate assets in the flourishing market, according to the Dubai Land Department.

“BusinessDay’s data analysis showed that aside from PEPs, top security agents, civil servants, and people connected in government with their family members own 88 per cent of properties ascribed to Nigerians in Dubai,” the report read.

“The locations are mostly posh areas, including Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building; Marsa Dubai, Al Merkadh, Palm Jumeirah, Wadi Al Safa, Madinat Al Mataar, and Nad Al Shiba First, among others.

Findings showed that some Nigerian male property registrants identified as females while the females registered as the opposite sex.”