Mexican Narcos Invest in Dubai

Translated by Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: Universal

Investigative Report June12, 2018
Check out: C4ADS

The luxurious city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has become in recent years a den of international magnates enriched with criminal capital and sanctioned by the United States Treasury. 

Along with smugglers of nuclear material, sponsors of armed conflicts, kleptocrats, money launderers and financial terrorists also appears Mexican Hassein Eduardo Figueroa Gómez , a businessman from Jalisco who, along with his father, Ezio Benjamín Figueroa Vázquez, was identified as a drug trafficking ringleader by the Kingpin Act in 2012.

The Sandcastles-Tracing Sanctions Evasion Through Dubai's Luxury Real Estate Market report from the private firm Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), located in Washington, to which Universal had access, Figueroa Gómez and Figueroa Vázquez  were accused by the US of trafficking tons of chemical precursors from Europe and sub-Saharan Africa to Mexico, to sell to  Mexican cartels to produce methamphetamines.

Ezio Benjamín Figueroa Vázquez was arrested in Mexico in 2011, while Hassein Eduardo Figueroa Gómez remains a fugitive; despite this, C4ADS points out, "it seems to have used Dubai as a base to continue its commercial activities", through transactions for at least $4.34 million dollars in luxury goods.

                                                         Dubai:  dirty money central

According to the report of the nonprofit analysis center, which specializes in transnational organized crime, weapons proliferation networks, "financial threats" and environmental crimes, all of its companies remained "active for years after being appointed" as leader of drug trafficking by the Department of the Treasury and are managed by two partners, Rodrigo Romero Mena and Leopoldo Ochoa Juraez or Juárez, the latter killed in Mexico in 2012.

Due to its weak regulatory framework, especially in the real estate sector: "Dubai has offered a way to the international financial system for illegitimate actors and illicit funds," says the document published today in different countries.

Evading detection:

For the researcher who coordinated the report, whose name remains in reserve, it is possible that Figueroa Gómez and other partners "are operating in Dubai and in other jurisdictions where their presence or participation is less expected, which allows them to evade detection."

Although the Mexican government has not focused on the Middle East, it notes that "the Figueroa case could serve as a starting point," which is why it recommends identifying the connections and, in the case of Dubai, establishing cooperation with the UAE. Among the nations of origin of the criminals who choose as Dubai base, he said, are Mexico, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria and Iran.

In the chapter on Mexico, it is detailed that Figueroa Gómez, accused in the US of drug trafficking and conspiracy to launder money, owns at least three properties in Dubai with a value of  $1.1 million dollars,  $2.57 million dollars and $667,000 USD; the most expensive corresponds to a penthouse.

 It would also have at least seven companies, three with domicile in the UAE and four in Cyprus that would not have been investigated by the Treasury Department, unlike the 16 companies located in Jalisco and Panama with which Figueroa Gómez and his father were identified by the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Law).

The Emirati companies are dedicated to the trade, investment and sale of methamfetamines products:

 Mexico Lindo Trading (registered in 2006), Maestro Investment, Sona Valley (2008) and Diamonds (2008), which implies that they were established before they will be sanctioned by the EU and that they operated at least between 2014 and 2016.

In the case of Cyprus, Figueroa Gómez has also been the owner and operator of companies, registered as Ergonas Trading Limited, Forcata Holdings Limited Rio Timto Ltd and Greenfield Studio Limited, which continues to operate, although it could be disbanded due to recent inactivity that has registered . 100% of its shares are owned by the Mexican, which in most other companies is the largest shareholder.

Commerce in general:

The niches of the four companies are commerce in general, investment, construction and real estate; the investigation points out that the pattern is similar to that found in the United Arab Emirates, since "they were incorporated before the appointment of Figueroa Gómez in April 2012; however, they continued to operate several years later. "

The report concludes that Figueroa Gómez "seems to have carried out multiple commercial operations of companies in Dubai and has invested approximately $4.34 million dollars in properties. All of its companies - three in the UAE and four in Cyprus - continued to be included in the corresponding corporate records after their designation in the US. At least one is still active today. "

In the seven companies appear two main business partners: Rodrigo Romero Mena and Leopoldo Ochoa Juraez or Juárez. The second, linked to three of the seven companies, was murdered at 36 years of age in 2012 in our country and was linked to Mexican cartels. 

Even the singer Gerardo Ortiz dedicated a song to him, in which he talks about "closing agreements with the princes" and "flying in a private plane in the Middle East."

Both were co-owners or co-directors of all the companies with Figueroa Gómez and their percentage of shares was similar. Romero Mena is a shareholder in six and is also director of a firm located in Canada, registered in 2016. He also owns a penthouse in Dubai, in the luxurious Pentominium tower, whose cost is not currently valued. "Apparently he is a long-time associate of Figueroa Gómez, with whom he has worked before and after his appointment," says the report.

Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, in the Persian Gulf, is chosen by billionaires from different parts of the world to settle or invest because it is "a particularly favorable destination" for funds of illicit origin, especially in the real estate, where controls are relaxed.

Nuclear proliferation:

In addition to Figueroa Gómez, C4ADS also points to Wael Abdulkarim and Ahmad Barqawi for financing conflicts in Syria; to Kambiz Mahmoud Rostamian and Hossein Pournaghshband for nuclear proliferation in Iran; Altaf Khanani for financial terrorism in Pakistan; to Kamel and Issam Amhaz in Lebanon, also for financial terrorism, and to Rami Makhlouf for corruption in Syria.

He stresses that despite the fact that the authorities have taken action, the response of the UAE to confront this criminal activity is still "limited". "The weakness of the regulatory system can strengthen and empower a variety of global illicit actors," he insists.

All these people, sanctioned by the US Treasury, add properties for at least $28.2 million dollars and others more involved in business for $78.8 million dollars. 

According to C4ADS, the three coincidences they have are:  their assets are directly linked to sanctions imposed by the Kingpin Law; They have corporate networks with ties in Dubai and branches in Mexico, Romania, Syria, Hong Kong, Lebanon and the British Virgin Islands, and finally, they use third party networks through family members, lawyers and business partners.