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Lawyers representing Ukrainian citizens have called on the U.S. government to investigate a senior member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family over claims he may have helped Russians evade U.S. sanctions.
The request was lodged with the State and Treasury ministries and the latter’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and involved United Arab Emirates (UAE) Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan).
Sheikh Mansour is a well-known figure in the UAE and beyond. He is the brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and is married to the daughter of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.He is also a puppet of Abu Dhabi ownership Member of Manchester City Football Club and is recently appointed As chairman of Mubadala Investments, a $285 billion sovereign wealth fund.
British barristers Rhys Davies and Ben Keith are representing the Ukrainian human rights activist, whose name has been withheld because of security concerns, in the request for a US investigation into him.
“There is no question that the UAE is now the preferred destination for hidden assets of sanctioned Russians from around the world,” Davis said. “It is clear that a number of ultra high net worth and high profile Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the US (and other jurisdictions) moved highly visible assets to the UAE after being sanctioned. We ask the US government to urgently investigate this matter.”
According to a spokesman for the attorneys representing them, their request “sets out extensively documented evidence that Sheikh Mansour in particular – and the UAE in general – clearly facilitated the transfer of assets from Russian oligarchs to the UAE.”
official attention
It follows signs that officials in Washington, D.C., are concerned about the UAE’s record in dealing with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Earlier this year, Brian Nelson, Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, visited the UAE and hold talks with a wide range of officials. According to the official readout of the visit, Nelson “agreed with the Treasury Department’s focus on rooting out evasion of U.S. sanctions, particularly those on Russia and Iran, and committed to taking additional action against those who evade or facilitate sanctions evasion.”
Since then, other U.S. officials visited gulf countriesincluding James O’Brien, head of the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination.
Requests to the State and Treasury Departments noted that “Russian oligarchs sympathetic to the president control vast amounts of wealth [Vladmir] Putin … was transferred to the UAE immediately after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It also includes the names of some oligarchs who have moved assets to the UAE since becoming the target of international sanctions, including steel billionaire and Russian parliament (Duma) member Andrei Skoch.
Sheikh Mansour could also be targeted by the U.S. sanctions program if he is found to have helped individuals evade sanctions, two British lawyers said.
lawyers made a similar requirements In October 2022, a report was submitted to the UK government regarding Sheikh Mansour’s alleged involvement in helping Russians bypass UK sanctions. British authorities have so far not responded publicly to the request.
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