This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
On July 7, 2020, a damning report titled Dubai's Role in Facilitating Corruption and Global Illicit Financial Flows was released, shedding light on the ways corrupt actors from around the world operate through or from Dubai.
The report, authored by Mathew Page and Jodi Vittori, highlights how Dubai's attractive tax regime is used to stash stolen money, with Kenya being one of the countries affected.
According to the report, Kenya has been losing an average of Sh40 billion every year through illicit financial flows since 2011, with government, local firms, and multinationals engaging in fraudulent schemes to avoid tax payment.
Kenya wrote to at least seven countries, including Dubai, in 2018 seeking details of billions of shillings suspected to be stashed abroad by influential individuals, including politicians and businessmen.
However, two years later, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have yet to make public their findings.
Dubai's property market is also seen as a magnet for tainted money, with the sector built to attract foreign buyers. Property developers and real estate agents accept huge sums from politically exposed persons and other suspicious buyers.
Even individuals targeted by international sanctions use Dubai property to launder money due to weak regulations and lax enforcement.
The Emirates joins a growing list of tax havens used by tax cheats and corrupt politicians mainly from Africa to stash looted money.
A Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) accused Dubai and the larger United Arab Emirates in April this year of not doing enough to prevent money laundering, despite recent progress.
