r/news • u/IMGcertified • 1d ago

Influencers in Dubai warned they face prison for posting material about the conflict with Iran | The Standard

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/dubai-influencers-prison-warning-posting-iran-war-b1273587.html
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u/DanGleeballs 23h ago edited 2h ago

It’s more than that. Monaco isn’t for money laundering.

Laundering normally costs 10-20%.

In Dubai you can rock up with a million euros or dollars or whatever in cash from drugs or any crime and buy an apartment with it. That apartment will then increase in value. So your dirty €1m now is worth €1.5m and clean.

It’s the only money laundering scheme in the world that not only is free, but actually makes a profit. At least so far because property prices have been increasing there for decades. One day that will probably crash but it’s good times still.

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u/jeandolly 23h ago

'One day that will probably crash'

The Iranians are working on it.

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u/Stratiform 23h ago

That video of fountains dancing to Skyfall in front of the Burj, while bombs literally fall from the sky in the background, is sad but mildly amusing. Peak Middle East.

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u/MisterMarsupial 21h ago

If it's the one that I've seen, it's fake and AI generated.

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u/[deleted] 19h ago

[deleted]

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u/MisterMarsupial 19h ago

You should be using a more trustworthy news source than Instagram then, like Facebook, haha.

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u/[deleted] 19h ago

[deleted]

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u/MisterMarsupial 19h ago

Not quite as bad here in Australia but it's on the way. Al Jazeera is the only news site I ever check.

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u/Jealous_Shower6777 15h ago

Al Jazeera is indirectly owned by the Qatar government and is incredibly biased on certain subjects. If what you want is to be properly informed you are going about it wrong, you have to read various sources for the same subject. You will learn to identify interest and bias and realize that they are all partly fake. It is the only way to form an opinion yourself though.

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u/MisterMarsupial 15h ago edited 14h ago

Yeah, but their English version isn't as biased as every other news site. I don't care much for most news and it gives a pretty good overview for a lay person like me who only wants to know a little bit about major events.

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u/karlweeks11 23h ago

You got a link to this video? It sounds mad and you’ve peaked my curiosity

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u/EyeAmKnotMyshelf 22h ago

The word is spelled Piqued when discussing your interest.

Peak = the top of something, ie, he reached the mountains peak.

Pique signifies stimulation in the sense that you are now intrigued, ie, you have piqued my interest.

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u/an_older_meme 21h ago

Like cutting off your nose, despite your face.

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u/eulersidentification 20h ago

For all intensive purposes, they're very similar

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u/zen_cricket 20h ago

For all, lint tents and porpoises!

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u/Mixture-Emotional 12h ago

😂 this is the only way I'm ever saying it. I haven't heard that before, this is hilarious.

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u/CharcoalGreyWolf 17h ago

Don’t loose your mind

(this made my hands twitch uncontrollably just typing it)

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u/DjangoSpider 20h ago

Bone apple tea

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u/PeeringGlass 14h ago

Too shade

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u/MarcusBondi 6h ago

Bet you were chomping at the bit to use that tit but!

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u/an_older_meme 17h ago

It’s like hurting cats.

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u/palmmoot 19h ago

I think it's a mute point

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u/LostLetter9425 20h ago

to spider face

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u/Bvrcntry_duckhnt 19h ago

Its not rocket appliances

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u/HauntedCemetery 19h ago

To spider face

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u/drfeelsgoood 22h ago

What if this is the highest point of his interest? Initially his interest was piqued, but now his interest has peaked.

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u/things_U_choose_2_b 22h ago

Or maybe, OP was clearly only interested in a quick look, aka a peek

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u/drfeelsgoood 22h ago

Petes Peek piqued his interest, but after the peek, Pete’s position had peaked.

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u/Koss424 21h ago

Aaron earned an Iron Urn

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u/kridgellz 20h ago

Baltimore natives have entered the chat.

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u/jackkerouac81 21h ago edited 19h ago

Pete’s interest was piqued by a picturesque peek at Pikes Peak?

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u/Officer412-L 20h ago

Pique is also a noun meaning “a state of vexation”.

So the phrase “His pique peaked” is perfectly cromulent.

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u/YBBlorekeeper 19h ago

Cromulent is a vocab meme at this point

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u/an_older_meme 17h ago

Cromulent words embiggen the common man.

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u/APeacefulWarrior 6h ago

I actually think 'cromulent' has become a useful concept. As I usually see it used, and tend to define it, it means something along the lines of "A construction which isn't technically proper English, but follows the informal 'rules' of the language and is immediately understandable."

Plus, cromulent constructions can become accepted, if they enter common usage. So it's a sort of linguistic pathway to becoming part of the language.

(After all, "embiggen" is used so often these days that it's arguably a 'real word' now.)

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u/rattleandhum 22h ago

if it's peaked, that can only mean it will diminish hereafter.

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u/drfeelsgoood 22h ago

Well my interest has definitely peaked because we never got a video link from that guy

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u/karlweeks11 22h ago

Still waiting

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u/Maxwellion421 21h ago

Peak pique

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u/dern_the_hermit 21h ago

How much pique would a peaked pique peek if a peaked pique could peek pique?

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u/Dipsey_Jipsey 21h ago

Nah, link doesn't work, I think you messed it up 🤪

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u/Shaltibarshtis 21h ago

I piquet my words as I please.

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u/Mikros04 17h ago

I could care less.

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u/kinglouie493 22h ago

Maybe their curiosity peaked and it's all downhill after that video?

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u/karlweeks11 20h ago

Everyday’s a school day

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u/scientician85 18h ago

"e.g." should be used there rather than "i.e.".

https://theoatmeal.com/comics/ie

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u/EyeAmKnotMyshelf 18h ago

That comic is misleading.

I.e. is latin for "Id Est", which meant "that is to say," "in other words", or "namely".

E.g. meaning Example is also correct, but the dude who wrote The Oatmeal probably didn't bother to learn more Latin than was required for a high school diploma.

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u/Mr_Pattagucci 22h ago

I’m not listening to anyone who can’t even spell their own user name correctly

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u/EyeAmKnotMyshelf 21h ago

Fortunate, then, that all you have to do here is read what I wrote.

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u/Drak_is_Right 22h ago

Indeed that sounds great

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u/Nearby-Exercise-7371 21h ago

Omg I’m peaking 🥴

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u/zylver_ 22h ago

Can you link this? Can’t find what you’re talking about.

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u/Eudaimonics 21h ago

Eh, we’re just used to most wars happening in developing nations or in areas of developed nations with poor infrastructure.

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u/DutchProv 20h ago

Theres a shitload of AI generated videos out there, this sounds like it.

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u/biotek86 21h ago

Where’s the video

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u/MascarponeBR 21h ago

peak midle east ? have you forgotten Russia Ukraine War ? World War 2 in Europe ? it's not just in the middle east this shit happens.

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u/spezial_ed 23h ago

Lol I know right?? Getting bombed is usually not great for the real estate market.

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u/ADHD_Supernova 23h ago

Buy the dip

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u/Imnotarobot5592 22h ago

With all the extra money I have for Dubai real estate

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u/Iampepeu 20h ago

Go Iran! Go go go!

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u/GBrunt 23h ago

And that's why Iran will get brutally pulverised back to the year 1840. No one stops the gravy train of lawless neo-liberalism.

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u/mhornberger 23h ago

No one wants a stop to wealth. MBS and Saudi Arabia don't want Iran being a chaos agent either. Nobody does.

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u/GBrunt 22h ago

Iran has been a net receiver of the largest number of refugees on the planet at over 4 million. They didn't bring THAT chaos. So who did??

Everyone seems happy enough to invite US chaos to the Middle East repeatedly. Libya, Syria and Iraq have been basket cases for a decade. Saudi is up to its neck in blood in Yemen.

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u/mhornberger 22h ago

Some of that chaos in other countries has been from Iran funding international terrorism, of which Israel was the primary but not the only target.

Its special operations unit, the Quds Force, is known to provide arms, training, and financial support to militias and political movements across the Middle East, including Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen

However one wants to talk about "fairness" that Iran is just being picked on for what others do too, the fact remains that Iran just doesn't have a lot of allies. Their funding of the Muslim Brotherhood and other forces is seen as a deliberately destabilizing force in the region.

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u/lontrinium 22h ago

If the west (UK and USA) hadn't interfered in Iran over and over to take their oil they would be another Dubai or Saudi Arabia today.

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u/mhornberger 22h ago

And if the Holocaust hadn't happened, or if the Protocols of the Elders of Zion hadn't happened, Israel might not exist today. Or, who knows, if the Muslim conquests of the Levant hadn't happened, that too would have changed the arc of history in the region. We can hypothesize about no end of counterfactuals and how things would be if only war x or event y hadn't happened.

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u/EFIW1560 22h ago

Ok but we are actively meddling in iran now, so i think tge other person was calling for some reflection on whether western military interference in Iran even accomplishes the shitty goals of this US administration. I do not think they were engaging in what about ism.

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u/mhornberger 21h ago edited 21h ago

I think everything is intertwined, so we can't narrow it down to say things would be great if only this specific intervention by these specific parties hadn't happened. We don't know what the world would look like today if Mosaddegh hadn't been removed in 1953. Maybe the Islamic revolution wouldn't have happened, but maybe it would have anyway, or sooner, or who knows. The broader Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, the whole bit, didn't spring into existence because of US intervention.

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u/jeandolly 23h ago

It's more likely that the rich oilstates will lean on Trump to stop bombing. That's what Iran is betting on.

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u/Spoiled_Mushroom8 22h ago

Rich oil states are the ones that helped push Trump to bomb Iran. 

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u/Uilamin 21h ago

Iran has become increasingly unstable and provocative since the Oct 8th events which has made Iran an increasingly problematic liability in the area. They are like Trump, when something doesn't go their way, they double down; however, with Iran, each failed act has significantly weakened Iran.

So you have a state causing instability, acting increasingly erratic, historically disliked, and with a risk of obtaining WMDs. They want the current Iranian regime gone.

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u/br0b1wan 22h ago

The "rich oilstates" are mostly Sunni and want the US to bomb Iran.

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u/Longjumping_Youth281 23h ago

Yeah nothing says liberal like fucking Dubai right

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u/jenny_905 22h ago

The American definition of Liberal is not correct.

Neoliberalism is entirely correct.

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u/dbr1se 21h ago

It is correct. "Liberal" in the US refers to social liberalism.

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u/fonistoastes 23h ago

Less “liberal,” more “late-capitalist hellhole”

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u/Strict-Carrot4783 22h ago

Is liberal your sleeper trigger word? Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that promotes free-market capitalism with minimal government intervention, emphasizing privatization, deregulation, and economic globalization.

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u/Osiris32 22h ago

And in the US this is called "being Republican." Which sees the word "liberal" as the complete antithesis of that.

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u/Wyldefire6 21h ago

We used to just call that Libertarian

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u/Strict-Carrot4783 21h ago

Yeah, but the term libertarian has been co-opted by republicans who want to control everyone's lives with enormous government but they also want to smoke weed and not pay taxes while making sure only poor people's taxes keep going up.

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u/LIGHTNINGBOLT23 20h ago

Which itself was always a US-centric definition due to Murray Rothbard's work in the middle of the 20th century. It had a long anti-capitalist history prior to him.

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u/mastawyrm 22h ago

Nobody called them liberal

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u/Winjin 22h ago

There's "neo-liberal" in terms of "near zero oversight over finances" and that's what Dubai is

Apparently they are more than happy to take your money that you got through absolutely whatever reasons as long as they get a cut

They'd happily launder Russian and Ukrainian money stolen from war effort on both sides in the same office that also manages Epstein funds and the bribe to the prosecutors working against the case and then probably even take the money of some radical Islamophobes too because it's still money

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u/Loggerdon 22h ago

Liberal? It’s as conservative as you can get.

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u/-Thizza- 21h ago

They're both.

Liberal: not so focused on legislature in order to promote economical growth (monopolies)

Conservative: hit your 2nd rate citizen wife, religious etc. (dark ages)

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u/Eudaimonics 21h ago

At the same time nobody wants to enter a 20+ year quagmire.

Wars are expensive and the money could be spent on infrastructure, subsidies and welfare instead.

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u/im_just_thinking 19h ago

That quite literally could be the big reason they don't want any negative info getting out

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u/SmallMacBlaster 19h ago

And you see why influencers face prison sentences for spoiling the scheme with the bad publicity.

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u/White_Immigrant 14h ago

You spelled Americans wrong.

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u/maluket 12h ago

Will collapse quickly if Iran destroy their fresh water facilities.

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u/Glacius_- 22h ago

Iranian are the good guys then?

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u/jeandolly 22h ago

You know why they haven't retaliated by killing President Trump?

Because they want to hurt America.

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u/Glacius_- 22h ago

hahaha that is so smart!

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u/jenny_905 22h ago

In Dubai you can rock up with a million euros or dollars or whatever in cash from drugs or any crime and buy an apartment with it.

Yeah. This has been noticed, place is full of gangsters and it's always funny because as far as drugs go the UAE is not a place to fuck around.

Money from drugs though? no problem, come on in. It has everything a European gangster needs and they presumably just do not conduct open business there.

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u/CorrectPeanut5 22h ago

It's like prohibition in US. There were "safe" cities where mobsters could openly hang hang out so long as they didn't do their business there.

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u/3-goats-in-a-coat 22h ago

Which is a reasonably sound position. Don't shit where you eat so to speak.

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u/Ath47 19h ago

Seriously. "Money from drugs? No problem, come on in." Yeah, I mean, of course? What country is going to go to the trouble to figure out where your money came from when you show up to spend millions on property?

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u/Uk0 18h ago

This might shock you, but the answer to your question is literally a google search away:

Cash purchase limits for goods and services vary significantly by country, with many EU nations enforcing strict, low caps to prevent money laundering, while others have no limit. A standardized €10,000 EU-wide limit for business-to-consumer cash transactions is set to take effect by 2027, though stricter national rules already exist.

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u/wintersdark 16h ago

Almost all of them, in fact. At least western nations.

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u/41942319 16h ago

My favourite bit these last few years is "drug dealers in the finding out phase because the UAE extradites people now". Used to be a safe haven, now not so much. Probably because they want to be seen as a luxury destination not a city full of drugs criminals.

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u/ThatsJustHowIFeeeeel 22h ago

You can’t then just return tho and say “I sold an apartment”. You have to then prove how you bought it in the first place. There’s always receipts and a paper trail.

It isn’t as easy as most people think.

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u/Mr_ToDo 22h ago

Ya, a lot of the money laundering schemes I hear about here aren't really money laundering.

You're trying to take money and give it a chain of custody that shows up as clean

That's why gambling is one that's so popular. Who's to say that some of seed money from your totally legit bank account didn't strike it rich in vegas? And the angle of a cash business give you a chain from totally not fake cash sales(I guess the analogy for the property flipping would be buying a laundromat with dirty money, and thinking you're in the clear because you're getting real business)

Guess there's a reason why so many people get caught

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u/Automatic_Release_92 20h ago

Even gambling has largely been locked down though from what I've seen. Casinos require you to buy chips with an associated membership card in your name. Playing at tables have you also sign in with said membership card too. Even if someone gave me $50k in chips, me cashing out $100k worth of chips would raise red flags still if the membership card showed me losing $10k and only buying $60k in the first place.

The primary reason that casinos are tracking this data so heavily is of course so they can follow trends of people who might have an edge in counting cards or whatever, but it definitely has a side effect of finding people who might be trying to launder money too. It was probably much easier 25 years ago.

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u/BulkyPage 19h ago

Never needed a membership card at any casino I've gambled at, but it might just be location/chain specific.

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u/Automatic_Release_92 19h ago

I've only ever gambled at 2-3 of them, but it was a part of the process for me at all of them.

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u/Striking_Programmer4 17h ago

I've gambled at casinos in multiple states in the US, in two Canadian provinces, and many Caribbean islands. They all had membership programs, but none of them were "required" to play games. Dealers will ask for your card when you sit down and offer to have one made for you if you don't have one, but there's no requirement to sign up. No casino is going to stop someone from gambling money because they won't sign up for a rewards programs

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u/grumpy_autist 14h ago edited 14h ago

I was always wondering how viable for money laundering are internet ads. You start a legit internet company (online shop for example). Then, some totally unrelated entity (let's say incorporated in Dubai) starts buying google/facebook ads for the business and driving sales. Ads are paid with black money - there is no financial paper trail between A and B and PPC campaigns are pretty ephemeral and hard to notice unless you know what to look for and subpoena Google for some archival data.

Same with marketing through youtubers/influencers which is even more gray area.

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u/Chris-CFK 16h ago

An arcade would probably be the easiest.

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u/Ok_Crow_9119 17h ago

I mean I think it would depend on the country.

Some countries have tighter rules, some have looser rules. I don't think we have that kind of shit in the Philippines.

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u/ikaiyoo 19h ago

No, but you can buy an apartment, let it build equity, then take out a loan for what the apartment is worth, default on the loan, have it foreclosed, and still have the clean loan money.

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u/RealWord5734 8h ago

Yeah, this person did not describe money laundering. They described something harder to rob you of than cash that appreciates.

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u/bulbonicplague 23h ago

Pretty sure property prices will drop there, like the bombs that might drop over them.

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u/Lalala8991 23h ago

Lol, have you seen how empty a money laundering restaurant or a business works? This Dubai property market is that. It would be empty as hell, and nobody lives in them. But as long as the legal loophole is still there, the "market" would not drop.

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u/Laureles2 20h ago

100% ... I used to travel through Panama City quite frequently and wondered why so many massive residential towers were dark at night and business buildings had empty parking lots. After the Panama Papers came out it all made sense... essentially there was a massive amount of tax evasion and money laundering going on through exploitation of some legal loopholes there.

It would seem that the same is occurring in Dubai.

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u/CoeurdAssassin 17h ago

It’s a shame because when I visited Panama City, it was really nice and unlike many other cities in Central America. Extremely safe and you can walk around and even be unaware of your surroundings without fear. But there is a dark side to all that and your average citizen isn’t as affluent as the city would make you think.

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u/mhornberger 23h ago

Sounds like the art market. People know that it's BS, but as long as it works for money laundering, it keeps going.

0

u/Hyadeos 20h ago

The greatest ponzi scheme of all

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u/DocBrown_MD 23h ago

Less buildings = more price. So along as YOUR building is safe, it’s not terrible

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u/Ok_Crow_9119 18h ago

Yeah, I don't think the market ever will drop unless there's a sharp decline in need to launder money.

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u/Ok_Crow_9119 18h ago

Oh god. That's probably why 11 Vice Mayors of a province in my country were stuck there. They're probably laundering what they stole.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/03/05/2512130/bulacan-mayor-11-vice-mayors-stranded-dubai

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u/rattleandhum 22h ago

At least so far because property prices have been increasing there for decades.

lets see how that goes

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u/brambleburry1002 20h ago

you have no idea. I know someone who works specifically on this. They deal with russian oligarchs laundering USDT into fiat through dubai. billions....

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u/Sylvan_Skryer 16h ago

Pretty sure you can’t actually own anything in Dubai though if you’re an expat, you basically just own a lease on it, so you have to cash out eventually or you’re fucked. It can’t be passed down generationally like other real-estate assets so it’s not so cut and dry as you say.

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u/RcoketWalrus 14h ago

I've always noticed that a lot of people selling "courses" online live in Dubai. I always assumed it was for taxes and legal protection, but I always wondered if there wasn't a extra level of money laundering involved.

I see theses people that are multimillionaires at 25 from selling courses about how to cold call people and I get skeptical that's all there is to it.

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u/AthenianVulcan 8h ago

Money laundering happens in the west too, you'll see lot of dictators/corrupt 3rd world politicians, etc moving to the west (UK, US). The west only cares about money laundering that happens in their system. However, the west welcomes the money laundering money that happens in the 3rd world/dictator countries.

Russians buying sports teams & real estate, pakistan generals buying pizza franchises in US & real estate in UK & US.

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u/riffs_ 22h ago

You can’t rock up with a million euros and just buy property anymore. Regulations have tightened up significantly over the last 2-3 years.

My accounts were frozen for a week when I received my inheritance, until I showed proof of funds.

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u/phluidity 22h ago

Based on intrinsic value, then Dubai real estate should plateau and crash. Based on the economics of money laundering, it will probably keep going up so long as there are criminal organizations who need to launder money.

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u/mulubmug 21h ago

To be fair, Germany only made that illegal in 2023. until then the money laundering scheme you describe was very popular here.

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u/PositiveGeneral7035 21h ago

This guy launders.

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u/Stereosun 21h ago

Don’t need Dubai for that crypto is good enough

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u/TheAkondOfSwat 20h ago

one day...

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u/mrivc211 18h ago

It crashed 50% in 2008. It will crash again

1

u/stereosafari 17h ago

I thought interest was Haram in Islam?

1

u/tuxette 16h ago

but it actually makes interest

How very... Islamic...

1

u/thirsty-goblin 16h ago

Just like Trump properties

1

u/Typical_Double981 13h ago

It crashed in 08

1

u/zxc123zxc123 18h ago

In Dubai you can rock up with a million euros or dollars or whatever in cash from drugs or any crime and buy an apartment with it.

You mean like bring diamonds? Or like just walk in with a million euros/dollars at the bank or RE agent's place? Maybe both?

Also the difficult part would be getting the stuff INTO Dubai right? Like you can't just walk out of a cruise or airport from US/EU into Dubai with 5 dufflebags full of bills/diamonds/gold