Gulf royals own more than £1bn of UK property via tax havens | Real estate | The Guardian
The royal families of Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar own more than £1bn of UK property via offshore jurisdictions, such as Jersey and the British Virgin Islands, the Guardian can reveal.
Nearly 200 properties, including hotels, London mansions and country estates, belong to a few small but super-rich dynasties, according to analysis of a new government register that reveals who is behind offshore companies that own UK property.
Gulf royals who hold assets through offshore entities include Sheikh Mansour, the owner of Manchester City football club, members of the Al Saud ruling family of Saudi Arabia, and the al-Thani clan that controls Qatar.
The most expensive is a £150m Surrey estate which, according to Land Registry documents, is owned by Sheikh Mansour’s wife, Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed al-Maktoum.
Sheikh Mansour, who is the deputy prime minister of the UAE, owns 17 other land titles via Jersey, including a London apartment and land connected to urban developments in Manchester.
Exclusive: Top U.S. Treasury official to warn UAE, Turkey over sanctions evasion | Reuters
The U.S. Treasury Department's top sanctions official on a trip to Turkey and the Middle East next week will warn countries and businesses that they could lose U.S. market access if they do business with entities subject to U.S. curbs as Washington cracks down on Russian attempts to evade sanctions imposed over its war in Ukraine.
Brian Nelson, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, will travel to Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey from Jan. 29 to Feb. 3 and meet with government officials as well as businesses and financial institutions to reiterate that Washington will continue to aggressively enforce its sanctions, a Treasury spokesperson told Reuters.
"Individuals and institutions operating in permissive jurisdictions risk potentially losing access to U.S. markets on account of doing business with sanctioned entities or not conducting appropriate due diligence," the spokesperson said.
While in the region, Nelson will discuss Treasury's efforts to crack down on Russian efforts to evade sanctions and export controls imposed over its brutal war against Ukraine, Iran’s destabilizing activity in the region, illicit finance risks undermining economic growth, and foreign investment.
EV maker Lucid surges on report Saudi PIF to buy remaining stake | Reuters
Lucid Group's (LCID.O) shares surged 43% on Friday, paring gains after doubling on market speculation that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) wanted to buy out the electric vehicle maker.
The speculation originated from an "uncooked" alert attributed to deals website Betaville, using its term for market gossip. Lucid was the sixth-most traded stock on U.S. exchanges and third top mover on the Nasdaq mid-afternoon.
The PIF, the sovereign wealth fund that owns more than 65% of Newark, California-based Lucid, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lucid declined to comment.
In 2018, PIF was interested in taking Tesla private, but the deal did not materialize. Tesla chief Elon Musk is under trial for allegedly misleading investors with his tweet "funding secured" for taking the company private.
Lucid has been struggling to deliver its sleek Air luxury EVs after delivering 4,369 vehicles last year.
