Owner of English football champion Manchester City, UAE deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has helped manage relationships with wealthy Russians looking to move money into the UAE, according to several people familiar with Abu Dhabi’s engagement with Russians, Bloomberg reported.
While Sheikh Mansour has long been involved in cultivating UAE-Russia relations, the importance and complexities of that position have grown since Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, the people said.
Even as the U.S., EU and other countries have blitzed Russia with thousands of new financial restrictions, making it the world’s most-sanctioned nation, the UAE hasn’t imposed any.
Senior government officials, rich businessmen and finance executives from Russia are increasingly approaching Sheikh Mansour and his office for help managing UAE government processes, several of the people said.
Some are shopping for penthouses in Dubai, while others want to buy luxury cars or need help setting up bank accounts and financial firms, they said.
The Ministry of Presidential Affairs didn’t return calls seeking comment and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment. Efforts to reach Sheikh Mansour through Manchester City and his offices weren’t successful. A spokesperson at the U.S. Treasury Department declined to comment.
