And as oligarch superyachts are seized around the world, new luxury yachts debuted at Dubai’s International Boat Show earlier this month. Conversations at the event, according to Bloomberg, referred to Russia’s war on Ukraine not as an invasion – but as “the situation”.

Despite Dubai’s evident attractions, the West’s tightening sanctions do not necessarily mean it will automatically become an even bigger playground for wealthy Russians.

Experts point out that this is a particularly delicate time for the UAE, which ranked in the top 10 for financial secrecy in the latest report by the London-based Tax Justice Network. 

This month it was also added to a list of jurisdictions subject to extra monitoring, known as a ‘grey list’, by global finance crime watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The organisation said the UAE had made a “high-level political commitment” to work with it on anti-money laundering and counter-finance terorrism measures.

Lawyers are confident the UAE will be careful not to further damage its global reputation.

“The finance sector in Dubai and the UAE could expand [off the back of more Russians moving over], but with that will come greater scrutiny,” says Adam Smith, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a former senior sanctions official at the US Treasury. 

“The UAE is not the wild west – they have sophisticated regulators who will seek to preserve the Emirate’s reputation and try to avoid the country being seen as a sanctions work-around.”

A finance executive who used to live in Dubai agrees, pointing out that it’s not worth it for jurisdictions already under scrutiny to be seen welcoming easy money with open arms.

“The FATF warning put on Dubai recently will make it harder for them to benefit from this war,” he says. 

“Ultimately the conflict is probably going to force Dubai and the region to get off the fence and pick sides. There may be some shuffling in the immediate term, but the place is being closely watched and I don’t think it will want to risk its bigger objectives, which primarily involve unlocking value from land banks and state connected assets.”

For now, Russians in Dubai are expressing gratitude at the warm welcome as the expat community grows. 

“Having a Russian passport or Russian money now is very toxic – no one wants to accept you, except places like Dubai,” a Russian businessman told The New York Times earlier this month, sharing an invitation to a rooftop cocktail party for cryptocurrency start-ups that was circulating among Russians in the city. “There’s no issue with being a Russian in Dubai.”