How Dubai became a haven for criminals from around the world | 60 Minutes Australia

Coming soon, welcome to Dubba, you are in the international drug business. Dubar is a great place to do business from Australia's new crime capital. Public enemy number one,

criminals

can operate with impunity and keep their businesses running. Why our worst

criminals

and suspects? criminals I'm people with a lot of influence, a lot of money, I love this dazzling Gangster Paradise, the baddest of the bad, the baddest of the bad, next on 60 Minutes. It may seem strange, but Australia's crime capital is currently Dubai - that's because this glitzy megacity on the Persian Gulf has become home to almost all of our biggest organized crime bosses.

They believe that by moving abroad they are beyond the reach of federal authorities, but tonight they could be thinking again about a huge Dubai property breach. The records have revealed not only their home addresses but also how the city has become a prime destination for criminals and suspected criminals from around the

world

. Dubai seems to have been the perfect place to do dirty business. Dubai Police want the

world

to think they're doing a great job, so a few years ago they created this action-packed video showing their SWAT team going after two of Australia's biggest suspected drug traffickers.

The targets were Benjam Pit and Matthew B, both living in Dubai at the time. But wanted by our police Seeing this dramatic sight of their arrest, you would think that alleged criminals are not welcome in Dubai, but as you are about to see, tonight couldn't be further from the truth how Dubai

became

a safe

haven

for some. of Australia's most dangerous criminal suspects these are the people right at the top of the tree the baddest of the bad the baddest of the bad we take you inside a global investigation exposing Dubai's luxury property market as a dumping ground for the criminal's dirty money Elite ask where they get their money from, don't ask because it's none of our business.

Our concern is exactly what he wants, from villas on the water to apartments in the sky. Dubai's biggest property data breach takes us straight to luxury. made up of Australian crime figures who have made the city their home away from home. Public enemy number one, criminals can operate there with a high degree of impunity in a way not seen anywhere else in the world from the In the air you can see why Palm jera is one of the most exclusive addresses in Dubai . This is where you'll find some of the city's most extravagant properties and halfway down the palm-lined bottom is the house linked to Angelo Pandeli, Australia's greatest hells angel, our biggest Mr.

Big right now is the site of a major renovation, but make no mistake, this sprawling beachfront villa bought by his wife for over 15 million is prime real estate and in Dubai Pandeli lives not like a criminal but like a king to whom I would travel. Regularly, first or business class, he ate in the best restaurants. I think he would live a very comfortable life. If anyone knows how far Angelo Pandeli can live, it's Tim O Conor. He is now a criminal defense lawyer, but until recently he spent years running operations for the New South Wales Crime Commission following Pandeli as he rose through the ranks to become Australia's most powerful organized criminal what kind of man is he pendy is quite intelligent um very low profile doesn't like Limelight um but a person who has made a lot of money supposedly through drug trafficking, what would you estimate their wealth would be?

I would have thought it was hundreds of millions, this man, hundreds of millions, yes, over the last few years Pandeli is believed to have been the head of The Notorious Australian Cartel, a group of dangerous suspected criminal bosses who have organized themselves into the network of Australia's most powerful drug trade. Each year he earns approximately $1.5 billion allegedly smuggling ice and cocaine into Australia from one of his headquarters in Dubai, Angelo's biggest asset by far. It is their connection with the Hells Angels, the angels have representation practically everywhere in the world, they have supply routes, they have suppliers, they have prepared networks, if you are going to bring drugs to Australia, you need people who can receive them, store them and distribute them to You, a person like Mr.

Pandeli could do business, generate business practically anywhere in the world, but Conor is not surprised that he chose the United Arab Emirates as a hub if he is in the international drug business. Dubai is a great place to do business from the beginning, its geographical location is excellent. Hop has made a jump to Europe, not far from Southeast Asia, so it's Midway, secondly, if you want to move in circles with international drug suppliers, it's a place to go because many of the The Europeans are already in third place. There is no tax in Dubai, so many of the mechanisms we would have here in Australia to tax the illicit movement of funds, such as ostrak bile numbers, do not exist there.

Simply put, Dubai is a great place for someone like Pandell to move ELCD funds from Australia safely, quickly, easily and seamlessly, it's not hard to see where some of Otten's profits end up from Australian thieves just 15

minutes

away. Angelo Pel's mansion is equally impressive Sunrise Bay Tower number one could be known as Mel's place for Australian drug trafficking suspects because among them several unit owners here were allegedly responsible for bringing more illegal drugs into Australia than in any other period of recent history. Leaked property data shows a number of criminals clustered in the same apartment building, what does that tell us?

It is a nice apartment block. Sounds like gangster heaven. Basically, yes, the apartments on levels 9, 12 and 21 were previously linked to Mark Butle, the international commander of the Outlaw Black biker gang. Accused drug smuggler Benjamin Pit bought on level 20 his co-accused Matthew Batar's wife bought apartments on levels 15 and 23 and the deeds to an apartment on level 14 belong to Marco Coffen, another alleged member of the Australian cartel, a walking distance to Sunrise. Bay Tower is the villa bought by the coffins associated Muhammad busay also considered a major Australian target by the federal police they are people with a lot of influence, a lot of money um and they would be considered the top of the tree the baddest of the bad the baddest of the bad But in Dubai the baddest of the bad are in good company, it would seem that dozens of the world's worst villains have bought property in this Middle Eastern metropolis.

The names appear in an extensive database of property records obtained by a global coalition of investigative journalists. Led by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, it presents thousands of entries and identifies properties belonging to some of the most unscrupulous people in the world. A roll call of corrupt and corrupt criminals. How important is this major property data leak that exposes all these mafia criminals? The corrupt people living in Theba really highlight the role the UAE plays as a kind of pirate entropy in the world, a place where any type of businessman, good, bad, corrupt, becomes a criminal, where he can operate with impunity. and keep your businesses going, professor.

Jody vtori is an expert on corruption and wealth acquisition. She says underworld figures are not only allowed into Dubai, they are welcomed and the flow of their dirty money actually supports the booming real estate market. One of her questions is to what extent the economy depends on this. and it may be that criminal air conditioning underpins much of what keeps the UAE the bright, shining city that the UAE is. Why is real estate, these luxurious villas, these seaside apartments, such a good place to move in or launder dirty drug-tainted funds if you are going to engage in a lot of money laundering for criminal activities or, Otherwise, you will need a solid real estate market.

It really comes in handy in being able to launder millions and sometimes even billions of dollars in cash. Don't do that in other situations, you know, maybe you can do it with artwork, maybe to some extent with gold, but there aren't many other ways to do it and unlike artists' gold, you can't live in the place in which you are. At the same time you are laundering funds through it and as you are about to see, when it comes to buying property in Dubai, real estate agents don't care who is buying or how they are paying, you ask where they have their money? why it's not our concern Our concern is exactly what you want BU with its Skyline dotted with gleaming skyscrapers and artificial beaches lined with mega mansions Dubai has long had one of the world's hottest real estate markets, a dream in the desert for real estate developers.

The last 50 years have seen an explosion in luxury, high-end living and, according to a mega leak from Property Data, an influx of the world's worst villains, including a host of some of the country's alleged drug kingpins. Australia. Public enemy number one, criminals can operate there. with a high degree of impunity in a way that is not seen anywhere else in the world. Georgetown University professor jod vtori studies corruption and finance. She says Dubai has become known as a playground for organized crime. The afternoon, in the right conditions. You can live very freely, presumably with the knowledge of those in charge of the country, and be able to operate your banking operations, your money laundering, park your yacht there, park your plane there, buy a nice mansion, put your children in school, all those types of activities. that you couldn't get away with anywhere else in the world, it has also been a place that has allowed individuals who are criminals to openly purchase real estate in a way that would be much more difficult to do anywhere else, you just have to Spend an afternoon with one of Dubai's real estate agents to learn that anything goes here.

The amazing thing is the shamelessness. All you're seeing is undercover footage captured in Dubai by a Swedish TV reporter. The man filming is one of the best in town. real estate agents in charge of selling some of Dub's best properties and as you are about to see he doesn't care who buys or how they pay, we have a lot of people from all over the world, we have people fleeing their countries to invest here only with cash Cash Cash how do they bring them here in bags? Yes, Dubai is like a move, you know, so it is a good place if you are corrupt, you will feel comfortable, you will see that it is totally safe.

They are the frank confessions of a man accustomed to the requests of the very rich, even he recognizes that it is the city's relaxed real estate regulations that attract so many people and allow them to keep large amounts of money safe. one of the points of attraction is why people come from all over it's like they have a part of the money they want it to be safe where to put it, you can put it inside you, it's not like buying drugs or something like that. They are buying properties, which is giving benefits to the government itself, yes, but maybe some buy drugs in other countries and take the money and have to follow everyone what they are doing, from where they ask where they get their money from.

Don't ask because it's not our concern. Our concern is just what you want to say in response to this global investigation. A UAE official insists it takes its role in protecting the integrity of the global financial system very seriously. The statement also said that the UAE works closely with international partners to disrupt and deter all forms of illicit financing and while there has been some cooperation with Australian authorities with the arrest and extradition of Benjamin Pit and Matthew Ubar, many other suspects remain, the United Arab Emirates insists it is cleaning up. things are getting better, can we believe it's hard to believe that they say they are cleaning up, but all of these people have been able to do it very, very openly in the UAE, so it belies the belief that they are actually improving significantly. cleaning up their act at least when it comes to certain key criminal actors in the world certainly some of Australia's biggest alleged criminals maintain interests in Dubai Angelo Pandeli and Muhammad Bousay not only have links to luxury properties of which they are also suspectsAustralian authorities. keep importing drugs, John, the fact that Angelo Pandel can buy a 10 million dollar villa in Dubai without the dubbing authorities blinking an eye, what does that tell us?

There is a lot of speculation about how he has done it and what could have been done to stop him from doing it, perhaps there is an argument to say that the Jibi authorities could have done more, but there is almost certainly an argument to say that the Australian authorities could have done more. John Chevis is a former Australian Federal Police money laundering specialist. He says what is happening in Dubai is a symptom of a system failure here in Australia. Having money generated in Australia from crime then moved out of Australia across our border into another country is a multi-step process and there are potential points where law enforcement in various parts of the world could have done more to prevent that from happening, then what you're saying is this Revelation that all these Australian gangsters are amassing significant wealth in the UAA is actually a potential failure of the Australian authorities to stop that.

Australia money flow Overseas drug money, yes, arguably there have been times when Australian authorities could have done more to prevent that money leaving Dubai property. Lake highlights a grim truth known to nearly every top law enforcement official in the nation about drug trafficking. and organized crime is occurring on an unprecedented scale, but it is not a political priority. Police are winning big victories, but they are barely making a dent in the flows of drugs and dirty money that fuel so much corruption. Economic and health problems for New South Wales crime commission director Tim O. Conor says Criminals or at least a good group of them are winning.

Organized crime networks have almost perfected the way of bringing drugs into Australia. We are a big country. We have a lot of trade. I really know this, but the fact is, there are still drugs available on the streets, if the Dubai authorities react to this huge data breach by heckling some of these criminals who are cracking down on them, what will happen to the problem? ? Look, ultimately maybe move to another jurisdiction where they can do the same thing. Hi, I'm Nick McKenzie, thanks for watching 60 Minutes Australia. Subscribe to our channel now to see new stories and exclusive clips every week.

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