MAY 5: Russian billionaires and entrepreneurs have been arriving in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in unprecedented numbers, business leaders told the BBC.
Property purchases in Dubai by Russians surged by 67% in the first three months of 2022, a report said.
The UAE has not put sanctions on Russia or criticised its invasion of Ukraine.
It is also providing visas to non-sanctioned Russians while many Western countries have restricted them.
It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have left Russia over the last two months - although exact figures are not available.
One Russian economist said as many as 200,000 Russians had left in the first 10 days after the war began.
Virtuzone, which helps companies to set up operations in Dubai, has seen a huge surge of Russian clients.
"We are receiving five times more enquiries from Russians since the war began," said chief executive George Hojeige.
"They are worried about an economic meltdown that's coming. That is why they are moving here to secure their wealth," he added.
The influx of Russian nationals has bolstered demand for luxury villas and apartments across the city. Real estate agents are reporting a surge in property prices, as Russians arriving in Dubai are looking to purchase homes.
Dubai-based real estate agency Betterhomes found property purchases by Russians surged by two thirds in the first three months of 2022.
And another real estate agency, Modern Living, told the BBC it had hired many Russian-speaking agents to cater to rising demand. Chief executive Thiago Caldas said they were receiving numerous calls from Russian nationals looking to relocate to Dubai immediately.
"Russians who are coming down are not buying just for investment, they are looking at Dubai as a second home," he said.
'Brain drain'
Many multinational companies and Russian start-ups are also relocating their employees to the UAE.
Fuad Fatullev is the co-founder of WeWay - a blockchain technology company that had offices in Russia and Ukraine. After the war broke out, he and his partners shifted hundreds of employees to Dubai.
"The war had a massive impact on our operations. We couldn't continue [as we were] as we had to move hundreds of people outside of Ukraine and Russia," says Fuad, who is a Russian citizen.
He adds that they chose to shift their employees to the UAE as it offers a safe economic and political environment to operate a business.
He said Russian businesses were moving out as they were finding it incredibly difficult to operate due to sanctions. The challenge was even more acute for companies dealing with international clients and brands, as most western firms have severed ties with Russian-based enterprises, he said.
Global firms like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Google that have shut down offices in Russia, are also relocating some of their employees to Dubai.
"There is definitely a brain drain that is happening. A lot of people are leaving because there are a lot of business restrictions right now," says Mr Fatulley.
Real estate prices soar
Russia's central bank is barred from tapping into the billions of foreign reserves held overseas in foreign banks. Some Russian banks have been removed from the Swift financial messaging system.
To protect its reserves, the Russian government has enacted capital restrictions and banned citizens from exiting the country with more than $10,000 in foreign currency.
Finding it difficult to transfer cash, a lot of Russian buyers are making payments in cryptocurrencies. Some of the purchasers have an intermediary who will take the payment in crypto and then pass on the cash to the seller on behalf of the buyer.
Gulf states including the UAE and Saudi Arabia have rejected calls from western governments to impose sanctions on Russia.
Abu Dhabi was one of only three countries, along with China and India, to abstain in a United Nations Security Council vote in February to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It also abstained in a General Assembly vote on 7 April to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.
The rise in Russian investment comes just months after the UAE was placed on a "grey list" by the Financial Action Task Force (FAFT), a global financial crime watchdog.
It means the country faces increased monitoring of its efforts to counter money laundering and terrorist financing. The UAE government has claimed to have taken significant measures to regulate inbound investment, and has stated that it remains committed to working closely with FAFT on areas for improvement.
The world’s five leading tech companies – Google (now Alphabet), Apple, Facebook (now Meta), Amazon and Microsoft – have taken steps to impose significant and voluntary sanctions on Russia, in response to its invasion of Ukraine. The decisions didn’t come unprompted. Ukraine has lobbied the major tech companies in the same way it sought assistance from the European Union, NATO and the US government.
Google stated today that Android users in Ukraine would receive air raid notifications straight on their phones before assaults are predicted near them. The business claimed it's working with the Ukrainian government to bring out an alert system for Android phones in the nation in an updated blog post.
XDA-Developers was the first to notice the functionality. "Unfortunately, millions of civilians in Ukraine now rely on air raid notifications to try to flee," Google writes in its release. According to Dave Burke, vice president of Google, the Android pings will be based on signals already being issued by the Ukrainian government.
They will also be modified from a system designed for fast transmitting earthquake warnings.Google has previously highlighted the Ukrainian Alarm app, which provides air raid notifications to Ukrainians in areas where current alerts are in effect on the Google Play Store. According to Burke, the new notifications system will begin rolling...
MARCH 1: The iPhone giant said it was "deeply concerned" about the Russian invasion and stands with those "suffering as a result of the violence".
Apple Pay and other services such as Apple Maps have also been limited.
Google has also removed Russian state-funded publishers such as RT from its features.
Mobile banking apps in Russian, such as Russia's VTB Bank's app, may soon not function fully on devices using Apple's iOS operating system, according to news agency RIA.
Apple said in a statement that the firm had disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a "safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens".
Last week, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov published an open letter to Apple on Twitter, in which he asked Apple to cut Russia off from its products, services, and App Store.
Earlier, Google restricted news firms funded by the Russian government from advertising tools and some features on YouTube.
"We are committed to complying with all sanctions requirements and we continue to monitor the latest guidance," the company wrote in a blog post.
The company also told the BBC that Google Pay had been limited in the country - for those using sanctioned banks. Google has not, however, blocked Google Pay in Russia.
Google also said "most of our services (like Search, Maps and YouTube) currently remain available in Russia, continuing to provide access to global information and perspectives."
Apple is generally fairly good at keeping its head down when it comes to global affairs.
For example, it has faced criticism for not standing up to China over its treatment of Uyghurs.
This move then is significant, and unusual, by the iPhone maker.
One by one global brands have been moving to distance themselves from Russia - making the country look more and more isolated.
But it was by no means certain that Apple would make this move. The company had started to receive criticism for its relative silence on Ukraine.
The BBC had reached out to Apple for comment, but had not received a reply until this announcement.
There are many phone companies in Russia, and plenty of alternatives to Apple products.
People with iPhones will also still be able to use the App Store - the pause in sales will not have a huge immediate impact.
But as brands desert Russia, its citizens will begin to notice that products they used to buy, simply aren't available anymore.
Firms cutting off Russia
Meanwhile, the Finnish network equipment maker Nokia said it would stop deliveries to Russia to comply with sanctions imposed on the country following the invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, Netflix also said it had "no plans" to add state-run channels to its Russian service. Russian regulations had required it to carry 20 free-to-air news, sports and entertainment channels in the country.
US sportswear giant Nike has also paused sales in Russia. An update to the company's website showed that purchases online and on the app were unavailable in Russia because the firm said it could not guarantee delivery of goods to the country.
The biggest shipping firms in the world, Danish Maersk and Geneva-based MSC, also suspended container shipping to and from the country on Tuesday. The UK has also banned ships from Russia in its updated sanctions.
Russia supplies a sixth of the world's commodities so will now be cut off from a significant part of shipping trade.
Motorbike firm Harley-Davidson also suspended business and shipments of its bikes to Russia.
And US plane manufacturer Boeing Co said on Tuesday it was suspending parts, maintenance and technical support for Russian airlines - as well as major operations in Moscow after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Google announced on Tuesday that it is blocking the YouTube channels linked to Russia's RT broadcaster and Sputnik news agency across Europe in the wake of the special operation in Ukraine.
Alphabet Inc's GOOGL.O Google barred on Saturday Russia's state-owned media outlet RT and other channels from receiving money for ads on their websites, apps and YouTube videos, similar to a move by Facebook after the invasion of Ukraine.
