Affected by the sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, more and more Russian businessmen, freelancers and artists are settling in Dubai, the wealthy Gulf emirate that has declared its neutrality in the conflict.
“The number of Russian entrepreneurs and start-ups has increased tenfold compared to last year,” said Jochen Knecht, managing director of IFZA, one of the many free zones created to attract foreign investment.
“Russian investments are welcome” in a country of nine million people, 90% of whom are foreign, mostly low-skilled workers from Asia.
Dubai, which is accused of being a luxury tourism center and often a tax haven, is mostly frequented by Russians with high purchasing power who are interested in the real estate sector. According to Bloomberg, these include Western-approved businessmen such as former Chelsea club owner Roman Abramovitch, who visited their home in Dubai in March.
keep your job
“There are many Russian celebrities who already own homes in Dubai and now want to live in the Emirate,” said Valaria Zolotco of real estate firm AX Capital.
“We’re seeing more and more SMEs, emerging companies willing to hand over their headquarters to keep their businesses going,” says Georges Hojeige, president of Virtugroup, who advised its installation in Dubai.
Financial and trade sanctions against Russia have created great difficulties for Russian companies, such as loss of suppliers, customers, workforce and logistics problems.
“We have to build a (new) infrastructure, we have the tools to do that, but it will take time,” Elvira Nabiullina, head of the Russian Central Bank, said in April. “Challenges arise in all sectors,” he said.
“any person”
Daria Nevskaya, a partner at Russian law firm FTL, said many of her clients “have difficulty working abroad”.
He himself decided to leave Moscow and open an office in Dubai. “I am a specialist in international law and I believe that there will be no international projects in Russia anytime soon,” he complains.
He goes on to say that Dubai offers “job opportunities,” an “international city” without anti-Russian sentiment. “I don’t feel like a criminal here. They treat me like any other human being.”
However, for many Russian citizens, moving to Dubai is fraught with hurdles, such as credit cards that don’t work abroad, intransigent banks, and Moscow’s restrictions on financial transfers.
Nevskaya said she has been trying to withdraw 5,000 euros transferred from Moscow to Dubai for a month, which was blocked by the European-based correspondent bank.
“I don’t think it’s fair, I’m not a sanctioned person but my money is blocked, I don’t have access to my account in Russia,” the lawyer said. Nevskaya said that due to restrictions, she was only able to take “$10,000” with her when she left her country.
source: Noticias
